


Life Changing Field Trip with Zelda and Link

by nooneshome12



Series: The Hero's Journey [2]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Awkward Flirting, F/M, Flirting, Flirty Zelda, Fluff, Nervous Link
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:46:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 27,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24977878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nooneshome12/pseuds/nooneshome12
Summary: After hearing what Haturo did to Zelda at their betrothal dinner, he allows her to visit Purah's Lab in Hateno. With Zelda sending Link some hints and Link missing them all, will they tell each other how they feel?Sequel to "Dinner Part from Hell"
Relationships: Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Series: The Hero's Journey [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1807891
Comments: 29
Kudos: 164





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! It's been a hot minute! So this is a sequel to my other story, "Dinner Part from Hell". You don't have to read it to understand what is going on, but it is recommended. This is mainly a fluff piece, I literally wrote this in response to the story "Unbroken" by DeliaMedlini. It's an amazing story and recommend it if you haven't already read it but it made me want to write some fluff because that story is making me real sad! So anyway hope you enjoy!

Link was never one to laugh at those who clearly were in distress or in need of help, but he couldn’t help himself. The person in need was the Princess of Hyrule attempting to secure Link’s weapons to his saddle, his bow and quiver, his dagger and the Master Sword that he trusted only her to handle. Although, seeing her nearly decapitated Epona after trying to tie the sword down finally made him step in to help.

“Ok ok, you need some pointers Princess?” He asked with a cheeky grin, with the stable empty he knew he could get away with teasing her.

“No! I’m in no need of assistance!” She said, her hands full of his equipment, his arrows falling out of the quiver and sword about to fall out of its scabbard.

Instead of another quip, he closed the short distance between them and put his hands over the pile of assorted weapons, ropes and camping equipment. He was almost tempted to move his hands to the bottom of the pile to meet hers, but knew this wasn’t the time or place. 

“Here, at least let me show you how to not cut my horse’s head off.” 

She quickly relented, letting him teach her the appropriate places to put each item. She was a quick learner and followed his instructions to a tee for her mount. Her bedroll, change of clothes, research journals and cooking supplies safe and secure on the saddle.

“See? I can do it, and there was no need for your rude, inappropriate sarcasm.” The Princess said after securing her bedroll, quickly crossing her arms with a smile on her face.

“All it took was nearly taking off Epona’s head. I don’t think I will ever be able to forgive you. And here I thought our friendship was improving.” He shot back, mirroring her expression while walking over to his horse. 

“I know it really is a shame, but all it took was a few months for you to show your true colors, instead of a courageous knight I find an evil, sarcastic...prick.” She looked around the stables before finishing her sentence, never losing her smile. 

“Wow, that kind of language coming from the future leader of Hyrule? Your handmaiden is right, you are spending too much time with me. My peasant vocabulary is starting to corrupt you after all those years of tutoring.” He said as he put his foot in a sturrup and got onto his horse. 

“Maybe I like spending time with you…” She said under her breath, hoping that Link didn't hear her, he did. 

It was odd comments like that that made Link’s head spin. It wasn’t everyday that a guy gets a compliment from the literal incarnation of the Goddess Hylia. And it was tourture. It was the way he caught her peeking at him whenever he would sneak away to bath in a river whenever they were out in the Wild. The way she clung to him at those dreadful dinners and balls, her arms gripped around his in a vice. He always told himself that he was just imagining things, that he should never get thoughts like that. But she wasn’t making it easy for him.

“Ahem. Shall we?” 

Her words broke him from his daydreaming, he nodded his head and led the way out the stables. The smile that he was holding just moments ago quickly vanished in a split second, no longer the sarcastic boy and girl joking with each other, just the Princess of Hyrule and her personal knight. It was like flipping a switch for him, and it still amazed her how quickly her knight can go from happy and light hearted to cold and uncaring. It made her want to see the real him more and more, and made these trips well worth their wait. 

Leaving the stables, they passed through a patrol of soldiers, all stopping and bowing at their Princess. Most people would love that attention, but Princess Zelda isn’t most people. That was another thing that both Link and her shared, hatred of the limlight. 

The gates to the castle were open, foregoing the usual pomp and circumstance of a typical Royal retreat for which both were grateful. This in no way meant they would not attract attention when leaving Castletown, with the Master Sword on full display and the Princess’s unmistakable beauty. Today they made a calculated move to leave during afternoon mass, where the cathedral would be filled with citizens, leaving the main road barren for a short time. They were unable to do that during their last trip, the one to the Spring of Power.

After returning from the Spring of Power, Zelda informed her father both of her failure to unlock her divine power and of Haturo’s actions the night before her departure. To her surprise, he didn’t question her accusation and immediately canceled the betrothal. She had expected him to accuse her of shrinking away from her duties, but he surprised both her and Link. What was even more surprising was that he sanctioned both her and Link to visit Lady Purah’s Lab in Hateno, or soon to be Lab with it still being under construction. 

Which is why the two were feeling vastly different emotions regarding the trip. Zelda could barely contain her excitement, a whole week tinkering and prodding ancient technology without having to worry about her father reprimanding her. And having Purah there was like icing on the cake, although she could be too overbearing at times, Zelda still loved her company regardless. Link on the other hand, was anxious. For the first time in well over a year and a half that he would be home, and most would assume that he would be happy to see his sister and mother again. It was true that he was, he missed his little sister especially. 

It wasn’t because he hadn’t been keeping in contact with them either, he would both receive and send letters weekly back home. His sister would write him long winded paragraphs about who is dating who, what crops were growing and such and he would write back short, efficient letters with nearly five hundred rupees attached every week to help around the farm. 

The real crux of his nervousness was derived from the fact that he was never truthful to his family. Even in his letters, he never dropped the act of the Hero he had created. He only wrote how sure he is that they will succeed against the Calamity and how he misses them. He was worried the second he walked through the door, they would see him for who he really was, a scared teenager with the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

“Are you even listening to me?”

“Hm? Oh, I’m sorry just...thinking about..nevermind.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Zelda’s face turned quickly from annoyance to concern. “Thinking? Now you never do that, now I must know what is going on inside that head of yours.” She said with a smile, all while inching their horses closer and closer. 

“Nothing important, just...family stuff.” 

“Oh, right. It’s been a long time since you’ve seen them, they’ll probably hate me for keeping you all to myself to the past year and a half.” She knew what she was doing, to others it may seem rude to make light of a sensitive subject, Link likes to avoid sensitive subjects, so he deflects with either humor or just shutting himself out. 

“Oh yeah, my sister especially might support a coup against your father.”

“Well then, I look forward to seeing you on the battlefield.” She said as their horses were pressed up against each other. With their horses pressed against each other, so were their legs. Link locked eyes with the Princess who sported a blush on her face. She avoided his gaze by looking at the horizon to see the sun fall being the Dueling Peaks. 

“It’s getting dark, we should probably set up camp fo the night.” She said as she sped up her horse so that she was a few paces in front of an equally flustered Link.

“Y-yeah, you’re right.” He said, quickening Epona’s pace to catch up with her.


	2. Chapter 2

If there was one thing that would never fail to make Link smile, it was cooking. It was what grounded him, what always seemed to clear his mind whenever it was clouded, what made him happy, what made him focus. Swordplay was something that helped him focus, but he never enjoyed it. Not as he enjoyed making a mushroom risotto after a long day of travelling and exploring with the Princess giggling at his side all the while, no swordplay needed. 

Or in today’s case, making some meat stew after a day where he spent most of it worrying about the next. After Zelda suggested they should set up camp, Link quickly found a suitable campsite just off the banks of the Hylia River. They fell into their usual routine, Zelda setting up their lone tent with Link finding them some firewood and hunting for dinner. He would always hunt close to camp, his protective nature not disappearing just because they were out of the castle. Thankfully he found a deer after less than an hour, a deer he was currently making into a nice stew, or what he hoped to be a nice stew.

With the stew only a few minutes away from being ready to eat, he decided to take a quick look at Zelda to see if she was too busy writing down in her journal to eat, something more common than one would expect. Only instead of being met with the side of her head, he was looking straight into her beautiful jade eyes. Seeing as how she was just caught staring, she looked back down to her journal with a blush, only it wasn’t her journal. Link had seen her go through the same blue leather back journal countless times but she wasn’t writing in a journal.

“If you’re done gawking at me, what are you writing in? I haven’t seen you use that journal before.” He asked without taking his eyes off the cooking pot. 

“I wasn’t...it’s something Urbosa got for...wait. How do you know I haven’t written in this specific journal before?” She said in a concerned tone, but the grin on her face betrayed her true emotions. 

“I...uh...I p-pay attention.” Any of the witty comebacks that Link was thinking of immediately disappeared as he nearly dropped the spoon he was using to stir the stew into said stew. He was hoping that his call out made her too flustered to call him out on his creepiness. 

“I’m sure you do pay attention.” She said, clearly enjoying how embarrassed she made him. “Well, for your information this isn’t a journal, it’s a sketchbook. I used to sketch in it years ago, and thought I should pick it back up again.”

Link only nodded, not trusting himself with words right now. With the stew done, he poured it into two bowls and made his way next to the Princess handing her one. She quickly closed her sketchbook, almost like she was hiding what she was drawing, but he couldn’t call her out on it, judging how poorly his previous attempt had ended. 

They fell into a comfortable silence, only broken by either of their horses neighing off in the distance or the sounds of the roaring Hylia river beside them. Eventually, the silence had to be broken by one of them, this time it being Zelda. 

“I think you’re starting to spoil me whenever we are on these trips. You somehow manage to make the cooks back at the castle look like children burning eggs in comparison.” She said after eating well over half the stew in less than a minute. 

“Well, then you’ll have to thank my mother when we meet her, she taught me all I know about cooking.” He said, mouth full of food. He felt his embarrassment fade away, thankful that the previous conversation was forgotten. 

“If that’s the case then I may have to ask my father to fire one of the cooks and hire her.” She said with a smile. 

“You wish, you couldn’t drag her away from home.” Link said, remembering the time that his mother told him of when his father was called back to Hyrule Castle while she was pregnant with him. His father begged her to come with him, but she refused saying something about never going back to that “hell hole”.

Zelda's giggles brought him back to the present, “Well that’s a shame, I guess I’ll have to settle for you.”

“Aw, come on Princess, I’ll have you know that I am quite the catch.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Link wished to all three goddesses that he could have taken them back. Zelda must have known he thought that guessing from the blush on both of their faces. Link awkwardly looked at anything but her, rubbing the back of his neck hoping that the ground would open up and swallow him whole. But, no such luck. 

Since they usually set up camp late into the night, so after they eat they would go to sleep not long after. Oh how Link wished that was the case today, not having the sun just set as they finished dinner. His mind was a mess and with cooking no longer an option to help him clear his mind he grabbed his sword and a rag to clean it. With him keeping himself busy with his sword and clearly not in the mood to talk, Zelda grabbed her sketchbook, continuing where she had left off before they had dinner. 

After an hour, the Master Sword was spotless, although it had been for the past half hour. Even with it clean, he decided to keep going since he had noticed something out of the corner of his eye that he never expected. At first he thought it was just his imagination, or that it was his mind playing tricks on him but after an hour, he was certain he wasn’t seeing things. 

What he saw was that every half minute or so, Zelda would look up from her sketch to look at him before looking back down at her book and this had been repeating for the past hour. Link soon couldn’t take it anymore, he ignored the embarrassment he still felt from earlier, stopped cleaning his sword, got up from the log he was sitting on and headed towards Zelda. She closed it as quickly as she could have, just like before. She made a vain attempt to hide the book under her cloak as he sat next to her, a sly grin on his face. 

“So…is there a reason you had been sneaking a peak at me for the past hour? I bet it has something to do with that book of yours.” He said, his grin turning into a full smile as he saw her blush. He started to lean over her to grab the book, stopped by her hand grabbing his wrists. 

“Excuse me, as much as I enjoy your company that doesn’t give you the right to go through my things!” She exclaimed, trying to come off as angry but failing completely with her reddened cheeks. 

“It does if it involves me.” He said back, not losing his grin. He wasn’t really trying to get the book, only hoping that she would show him after seeing him try to go for it. She grabbed the book from under her cloak and held it an arms length away from her body. This only made him try and reach over her to get it, but along the way she must have lost her grip on the log they were both sitting on as both fell off the log, with Links arms propping himself up, hands on either side of her head.

At first both looked at each other, soon breaking out into laughter with the sketch book forgotten. After the two had finished laughing, both seemed to notice at the same time how close they were and neither of them trying to break away from the other. Links heart nearly stopped as Zelda looked at him dead in the eye before she brought her hand up to his cheek, before wrapping it around the back of his neck, pulling him into a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger I know! I'll try and update more frequently. All of your feedback has been very helpful so keep it up!


	3. Chapter 3

He thought he was dreaming. Goddess, the amount of times he had imagined, fantasized or daydreamed of this exact scenario. Thankfully Zelda’s eyes were closed or she would have seen his blue eyes bulging out of his head in complete and utter shock. He was so surprised by her forwardness that he almost forgot to kiss back, but he quickly fixed that. With both of his hands being used to keep himself from falling on top of Zelda, he was unable to do anything but kiss her. Zelda on the other hand was able to use her hands as she pleased, at first just noticing her hand caressing his cheek until he felt another pull on the fabric of his tunic, forcing him to get closer and deepening the kiss as a result. 

Neither knew how long the kiss went on for, Link never wanted it to end. Eventually, the two needed to breathe and the kiss was broken. Both staring at each other, trying to catch their breath after an impromptu make out session. Link had no idea what to say, words never being his forte. Thankfully for him it was Zelda who broke the silence first. 

“That was….I didn’t think….wow.” She said with a smile, bringing her hand back up to his cheek.

“Yeah...wow.” Again, words not being his strong suit. He was worried that she would find his response disrespectful, his mind immediately jumping to the worst possible outcomes. Judging by her giggles, that wasn’t the case.

“Again, my knight shows his eloquence. No grand romantic gesture like the other knights? No dropping down onto your knees begging for my hand in marriage. “Oh Princess Zelda, you are the star that the Goddess let fall from heaven.” I must say I’m almost disappointed.” She said, wrapping both her arms around his neck. 

“That goes against my simple, country charm that you like so much.” Link said, letting his accent that he tried to hide around her show. 

She threw her head back with laughter and he found himself joining her. Before today her laughter was the only thing that would never fail at making him smile, that was until she decided to kiss him. He loved that whenever she tried to take in a breath she snorted, something that her father and royal tutors thought they had managed to beat out of her. Which made Link all the more happy that she let her royal facade down around him and him alone, and that he found it down right adorable. After they settled down they locked eyes again, before Link could say anything Zelda brought herself upward and locked lips with him again. This was much shorter than the last kiss, Zelda breaking away after a few seconds all while leaving her arms wrapped around his neck. 

“As much as I’m loving this, I feel like we should talk about...whatever this is. Preferably sitting upwards.” She said patting his shoulder, signalling for him to help her up. He understood the message, with her arms around his neck all he needed to do was boost them back up to the log so that they were sitting upright. 

They sat in awkward silence for a few seconds, both immediately realizing the repercussions of their actions. Link was looking around the camp, noticing how the fire would need more wood soon or how they would have to put the tarp over the tent seeing as how it might rain tonight. Looking at anything but the girl in front of him who knew exactly what he was doing, so she waited for him to look at her. With it just being a camp made for two people, he eventually ran out of things to look at and begrudgingly met her gaze for only a second, immediately looking down at his hands that were resting on his knees. Letting out a sigh, she grabbed one of his hands trying to get him to look at her.

“Link, you know we have to talk about this.” She said, almost whispering like the entire Royal Court was in earshot. Link nodded, still not looking up. “Link please look at me.” All it took was for her to ask as he finally gathered the courage to look her in the eye. She immediately recognized the look he was giving her, one of complete vulnerability. She knew it well, seeing that look every night after another failed prayer session or scolding in her bedroom mirror. But what killed her was not knowing why Link was giving her that look. “Link, why are you looking at me like that? I hope that I didn’t...take advantage of you.” 

“...what? No! No you didn’t, believe me you have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” He said, grabbing her hand. She was relieved to hear it, letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in. Zelda had been planning this for weeks, even before that dinner party with Haturo, but everytime she thought she gathered the courage to do it, a small voice in the back of her head tried to convince her that she was imagining things. A small voice that she listened to everytime without fail.

“Oh, thank the Goddess. Then....why are you looking at me like that?” She asked with some trepidation. He didn’t answer her immediately, only looking down again. Zelda felt his hand grip his knee, this made her even more worried about what he was going to say next. After a few more seconds, he finally answered.

“It’s just….you’re the...Princess of Hyrule.” he said, visibly anxious about what he was trying to say.

“That I am, and?” She said immediately, not giving him anymore time to think of what to say next, not that it would have helped. 

“You’re...you know...a-and I’m just some farmer who would never have met you if not for some magic sword I pulled out of some stone. Hell, before I got that sword I was just some soldier at Fort Hateno, not even a knight! I never imagined I would see past the Dueling Peaks, let alone kiss the Princess who would rule it someday!” He stopped before taking a deep breath to calm himself before continuing. “I’m not worthy of you. I’m not worth enough to even think about you that way, let alone kiss you.”

The last thing that Link expected to hear was her laughter, something that before never failed to make him smile, now made him nervous. Was she just tricking him for her own pleasure? To see how some peasant would react to the Princess kissing them? Seeing his face, she covered her mouth and let her laughter subside. 

“I’m sorry Link, I’m not laughing at you. It’s just that..oh how do I explain it? Remember that night after that dreadfully long dinner with those nobles from Heba?” Seeing him nod in confusion, she continued. “Well, you weren’t allowed to sit and eat with me and the other Champions. And how afterwards, me and you snuck into the kitchen so that we could eat together in my room, just me and you. In my room, you told me the same thing you just did now. This ringing any bells?” Link nodded. “Then you remember what I told you that night right?” 

He looked away again, he didn’t need her to remind him of that night. He remembered what she said to him, how could he forget. Goddess, he repeated that night over and over in his head almost every day. Her hands cupping his cheeks brought his gaze back up to meet hers. 

“I told you that I’m not worthy of you. I meant it then and I mean it now, not because of who your father was or who your mother married. I said that because you spent weeks with someone who never treated you like a person, someone who screamed and yelled at you any chance that she got simply because she was mad at herself, not you. And what did you do? You not only put up with it, which not many people can do, but you helped me any chance you could. That says more about you as a person than any family name could. And a person is who I have feelings for, not a family name or some noble.” 

She didn’t let him finish before bringing him in for another kiss, this one like the first only more passionate for both of them. While Link felt much more at ease after Zelda’s heart to heart, he still felt that same feeling of worthlessness pester in his stomach, albeit much smaller and easier to ignore than before. And ignore it he did as his arms snaked around her waist, pulling her close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the feedback and compliments. Keep commenting any critiques and ways I can improve!


	4. Chapter 4

She almost couldn’t believe it. After weeks of trepidation, she had finally thrown caution into the wind and confessed her feelings to Link. Well, “confessed” wasn’t the right word, “showed” was probably more accurate. What surprised her most was that he didn’t jump away from her, he kissed her back, and what a kisser he was. While she was fairly certain of his feelings for her, there was always that small chance that she had been imagining things or jumping to conclusions. Maybe when she catches him staring at her it was because she had something in her hair, or he only pretended to be interested in her experiments to humor her. Any doubt either of the two had was gone the second Zelda pulled Link in for a kiss. 

Speaking of kisses, the two had to break away again to get some air after another long, passionate kiss. They were just staring, no words needed as she gazed into those blue eyes of his. She had been subjected to betrothals to the most handsome nobles and knights throughout the whole kingdom, and none of them could even compare to the man in front of her. Sure, he wasn’t exactly ugly but right now with the sun fully set and the glow from the fire the only source of light, he was perfect.

“Zelda?”

“Hm? Y-yes?” She squeaked out.

“Nothing, just couldn’t help but notice that you were staring at me.” Link said with a grin in his face. 

“Oh! If I was staring then what were you doing? Here I thought we were sharing a romantic moment.” She dropped her arms from his shoulders, crossing them in front of her. Even with her body posture, a smile on her face was all he needed to know that she wasn’t serious.

“Oh, I was staring, but it’s fine when I do it. When you stare it’s weird.” The grin on his face now a full fledged smile.

“Right, staring at the Princess when she is praying when she thinks she’s alone isn’t weird.” Based on his mouth slamming shut and his face getting red, she knew that she got him there. 

“Well I...you ran off and I didn’t....ok fine, you win.” He said, throwing his hands up in defeat. 

“Good, glad we're past that. Now try not to ruin the moment will you?” She said scooting over to him so that their sides touch, leaning her head on his shoulder with her focus on the fire. She felt his arm wrap around her as his head came to rest on top of hers. She let out a content sigh, feeling somewhat at peace for the first time in a very long time. Even with her powers still not unlocked and the Calamity fastly approaching, she knew that with Link at her side it might not end with Hyrule’s destruction. 

She began to lose track of how much time they had been sitting here until she felt Links arm that was around her reach for something behind the log. Figuring he was trying to grab a bug or something to try and scare her, she turned to look at what he was reaching for, only to be met with just a patch of dirt. Her head snapped to him, only to be met with a sight that made her heart drop. Link was holding onto her white sketch book with a curious look on his face. She ripped it out of his hands before he was able to open it. 

“What did I say about ruining the moment!” She said, clearly annoyed.

“I-I wasn’t trying to! I wasn’t going to open it unless you said I could. I promise I won’t make fun, I genuinely want to see your drawings” He said, putting his hands up as if she was going to hit him. 

Her expression softened, fiddling with the string that marked her latest drawing. “It’s just….it’s embarrassing. Plus, they’re terrible, I haven't done it in years.”

“Zelda. You’ve seen me try and sneak into Gerudo Town wearing women’s clothing. Nothing is more embarrassing than that.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at the memory. Because of that incident, whenever she thinks of Gerudo Town, she doesn’t picture Urbosa or the friendly Sand Seals. She sees Link wearing clothes that were clearly too small for him, being dragged out by two Gerudo Guards. It was an amazing sight to see the man who wielded the sword of legend, being carried like a child out of town. 

“I….I guess so. But, promise that you won’t laugh.” She said, lessening the vice grip she had on the book. She put the book down on her lap as she felt his arm go around her shoulder. Opening the front cover revealed crudely drawn stick figures and animals that looked more like circles with legs. 

“As you can see, my artistic abilities rival the greats.” Zelda said with a laugh as she flipped through the pages, with the stick figures being replaced with more humanoid shapes showing her slow, but steady progress. She started to skim through the pages, one page in particular caught Links attention. 

“Wait, what was that.” He said as he used his free hand to flip back to the page in question. He was amazed at the sketch, it wasn’t of a stick figure or something that could be interpreted as an animal. It was an almost life-like depiction of a little girl, by his guess couldn’t be older than four or five years old, she was smiling, showing off a missing front tooth.

“Zelda that’s….wow. How in the world would this be embarrassing, I can’t believe you drew this.” He asked in amazement.

“I didn’t, my mother did.” She replied, barley above a whisper. “I remember just a week or so before she died, she took me to some tree that looked over Hyrule field. She was so sick that she needed two knights to help her up onto her horse. I brought this book so that I could practice drawing some flowers or something like that, but halfway through the trip she took it from me and drew this.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “That was the last time this was used up until last week.”

Link didn’t know what to say, Zelda rarely talked about her mother in detail. He could tell that even after over a decade, her mother's death still struck a nerve, something that he could sympathize with. He put his hand on top of hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“I think that she’ll be glad that you’re using it again. Just from that one drawing, I can tell how skilled she was, and now whenever you use this it’s something to remember her by. I know it hurts to just remember, but it’s not just painful memories right?”

She didn’t answer immediately, her eyes not moving away from the drawing. “Yeah, I know you’re right. It just still hurts you know?”

“Believe me, I know how you feel.” Link said, giving her a sad smile as he pulled her into his side.

After nodding her head, she gave another deep sigh and slowly flipped the page. Link could tell these were recently drawn, not just from the darker ink but how much better the sketches were. Instead of stick figures or crudely drawn animals, different flowers and guardians took center stage. He saw various other subjects, like the Master Sword, the Hylian Royal crest or the Sheikah symbol. But, mostly it was the Guardians or a Silent Princess. Right before they hit the bookmark, she stopped.

“Now, this is where you promise not to laugh.” She said, dead serious, with no hint of amusement. “Promise me.”

“Promise.”

“Ok, here goes.” She said under her breath. What Link saw when she flipped the page was the last thing he had ever expected. It was...him. Well two drawings of him, one being him cooking and the other him cleaning his sword. The first drawing of him over the cooking pot wasn’t finished, only his upper half drawn, probably because he interrupted her. The second one was finished, and Link was amazed at how much it looked like him. The apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree when it came to drawing. 

“These are amazing Zelda. Why would you think I’d laugh at them? I mean I know I can be an ass but these are amazing, plus you had a pretty good model.”

“Well, you’re right about something. You can be an ass sometimes.” He didn’t need to see her face to know that she said that with a grin. 

“Well, be that as it may. I’m still glad I was an ass when I asked about them, if I hadn’t I wouldn’t have ended up on top of you. So you can thank my behavior for one thing.” Link said, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. 

She didn’t say anything, although she had a smile on her face. Link wanted to poke and pry but decided against it, Zelda's words from earlier about him “ruining the moment” stopping him. And so instead of going back and forth at each other, they were both content to simply enjoy the others presence and watch the fire. Link was starting to lose track of time, wondering when they should go to bed when he heard a yawn. 

“Tired, your Highness?” He asked the sleepy Princess.

“Mhm, very. Would the honorable knight carry the Princess to her chamber?” Even half asleep, she could still make a sarcastic comment. 

“If the fair maiden will grant me one kiss.” He shot back.

Without any hesitation, she leaned up and gave him a kiss on the lips. Just as he was about to slip his tongue into her mouth, she pulled away with an evil smile on her face. He was going to protest, but he let out a yawn before he could say anything. Tomorrow, he told himself, he had waited months just to kiss her, what was another few hours? Leaning down, he put his arm under her knees with his other just below her neck as he picked her up and walked towards the tent. He reached the flap and gave her a nudge with his head. “A little help?”

She giggled, opening the flap. He ducked and laid her down on her bedroll. Seeing a stray hair, using a finger he put it back in place behind her ear. “Goodnight Princess.”

She mumbled something back, but was asleep in seconds. Link couldn’t help but smile at the sight. He headed over to his bedroll next to her, laying down he felt drowsiness overcome him as he felt his eyelids felt like weights. Before he knew it, he was asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a bit of writers block with this chapter, so I hope it holds up! Keep those comments coming, see you soon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all, sorry for the wait. Had a bit of writers block when it came to this chapter, so I hope it holds up! Just for reference, Link's accent that I keep mentioning is similar to a Northern English accent.

“You know, I’ve never been to Fort Hateno.”

“Not surprised, it’s pocket change when compared to the Citadel. Plus, there really isn’t much past it, just some farms and Bokoblin Camps.” Link said as they approached the fort in question. It hadn’t changed much from when he was last here, manning the walls. After spending the last year and a half at Hyrule Castle, being surrounded by its massive walls and guard towers, his former station looked like an anthill in comparison. That being said, seeing the Fort reminded him how close he was to home.

“Nonsense! I’ve heard so much about this region, Ebon Mountain and it’s broken heart pond or Mapla Point. I’ve been told that this region is the most beautiful in all of Hyrule. And now with Purah’s Lab being built, we’ll have an excuse to visit.” The Princess said with a smile.

“I’m sure the person who told you that this region was beautiful never visited.” He joked back as they approached the gates. 

He was thankful that he heard someone yell to open the gates, the familiar creaking sound that the gates made whenever opened was still there, guess they never did fix it. He remembered just before he found the Master Sword, the Captain present ordered Link’s sergeant to gather a group of men to replace the gears for the door. Obviously that never happened. Just as the two reached the entrance to the Fort, the gates were opened and they went inside. Link hopped off his horse, as did the Princess and led their horses through the narrow passageway. Walking through the passageway revealed men of all shapes and sizes stationed on the walls, tending to the horses or making weapons and armor. Over the past year and a half, he had been looked down on or belittled by his fellow guards in the castle, but not here. Here every man was judged based on who they were and how well they were at their job, not where they came from. 

Just as they made it to the stables, Link was about to ask the Princess if this Fort held up to the Royal Army standards when a commanding voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Well well well, Private Forester. I didn’t expect to see you here again.”

Link’s back became as straight as a ruler, his feet snapped together and his arms crossed behind his back as he turned around. He only needed to hear that deep, commanding voice to know who was talking to him, but looking at the man in question didn’t diminish Link’s nervousness. Captain Kokori was just by first impressions, a typical take no nonsense type of commander, just based off his tall frame and scared face. Link thought that when he first arrived here, but quickly found out that he was stern but fair, still didn’t make him any less intimidating to Link.

“Although I guess it’s Sir Link now, so I guess you outrank me now.” The Captain said, Link still too nervous to speak.

“Never, sir.” Link shot back, finally gathering enough courage to say something. 

“Well, whatever the case is, it is good to see you again, son.” Kokori said with a small smile, his eyes looked behind Link and saw Zelda looking amused. “Your Highness I presume. Welcome to Fort Hateno, if I had known you were coming I would have cleaned it up for you. Or prepared a room.”

“Oh no, it’s quite alright Captain. I can handle a little dirt.” She said with a smile, taking a quick glance at Link who was still standing at attention. “Besides we’re just passing through, just need to restock on somethings and we’ll be off.”

“In that case, lunch will be ready in a few, please come see me if you need anything else.” The captain bowed and turned to leave the stables. Right before he reached the door he gave Link one last look and said, “At ease, Link.”

Link didn’t relax until he heard the door shut behind Kokori, hearing Zelda laugh as she tied her horse down. “What’s so funny Princess?” He asked, his face bright red.

“Nothing.” She said through a laughing fit. “The look on your face! It was as if you saw ten Silver Lynels!” She walked over to him, all while making sure no one was around before she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “Plus, you look cute when you’re flustered.”

If Link’s face could have gotten anymore red, it would have. She was always one to joke around with him, but she knew exactly how to make him blush . “I uhh...thank you?” He finally said, arms still limp at his sides, too afraid to move. He was surprised that she was even flirting with him here of all places, and by that he meant in a public place, not in the wild. For Hylia’s sake back at the Castle they wouldn’t even refer to each other by their names, and that wasn’t just at the castle. Whenever they would be in contact with anyone besides either just themselves or the other Champions, they would be all business. So for her to try this here, with soldiers less than six feet away, behind an unlocked wooden door, she must really want to torture him.

“Zelda...isn’t this a bit risky?” He asked, finally moving his arms to her waist.

“That’s what makes it exciting.” She said before closing the distance between them. For a few seconds, Link was mostly looking at the door, expecting for someone to march in and interrupt their make out session. But, eventually he couldn’t resist her so he gave in and pulled her close. Of course it was only a few seconds after he took his eyes off the door that someone came barging in. Zelda seemed to be prepared for this however, and pushed Link into the pen.

“Oh! Excuse me, Princess. I was just checking on the horses.” The old man said, completely unaware of what was happening a few seconds ago. 

“Then we will get out of your way then.” She said helping Link up, “Sir Knight, you should be more careful.” 

“Yes, Princess.” He said, not being able to contain his grin. 

“Oh, Link! It’s good to see you again, my boy. I hope you’re taking good care of Epona.” The man said, walking over to the mare in question and giving her side a pat. 

“Of course I am! Princess this is Ilan, the Stablemaster for the Fort.” Link said, finally back on his feet. “He taught me a lot about horses while I was here.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Princess.” The old man said with a bow, then quickly turning his attention back to Epona. 

“The pleasure is all mine, Ilan.” She said, returning the bow before turning to Link.

“Come on, Princess. Let’s go get some food and get out of Ilan’s hair.” He said making his way to the door, Zelda following behind him. They heard the old man say “If I still had any.” as they finally left the stables. Link looked around and saw several cooking pots filled with food, his stomach growling at the sight. His feet led him to one of the cooking pots, picked up two bowls, filled them with the meat stew the cooks prepared and gave one to Zelda. They found a spot to sit by a fire pit right beside the barracks, where the rest of the soldiers were eating. Both could easily hear their laughs and boasting from where they were.

“Do you want to go eat in there? I can handle it.” Zelda told him after a few minutes. 

“Oh no, that’s the last thing I want to do. I don’t doubt that you can handle it, it's them I’m worried about. These guys haven’t seen a woman in months, and I don’t think they'll care that you’re the Princess.” He said not looking away from his food.

“My my, one day and you’re already fearing I’ll leave for another man?” She said, moving closer to him. “And here I thought you trusted me.”

That got a laugh out of him, she usually didn’t like it when she was given special treatment just because of her status as princess. So he was glad she wasn’t mad. “I don’t know, I saw how you were eying Ilan. Didn’t know you were into older men.”

“I know, and here I thought my type were blonde, farm boys with magic swords.” She shot back, giving him the same look that she gave him in the stables. Link was about to say something equally as flirty when a large group of soldiers left the barracks. Link tried his best to ignore them when he heard one of them scream his name.

“Link! No fucking way!” The voice screamed in a familiar accent. Link turned and saw a very familiar face that he never expected to see here.

“Koyin? What the hell are you doing here?” Link asked as he got up from his seat, meeting Koyin halfway as both men embraced. “I thought you said you’d stay at the farm?”

“Well that was the plan...but like you, the family needed money and the farm wasn’t making it.” He gave Link a pat on the back before holding him at arm's length. “Besides, I was hoping to catch you here, but apparently I just missed you.”

“Yeah….Hero Business.” Link said as he looked down at his feet. He knew the topic would eventually come up, especially around his childhood friends. Still didn’t make him any less uncomfortable. “Anyway, how are things back home? I try to keep up with Mom and Aryll, but they seem to dodge it whenever I ask.” 

“Things are….interesting to say the least. After you left, it was relatively quiet. Aside from a few raids by monsters, so the usual. But ever since that crazy white haired lady set up shop, it’s been anything but quiet. At least that’s what Pa tells me.” Link couldn’t help but laugh.

“Purah? Believe me she can be a bit much at times, but she’s harmless. That’s actually why we’re here.” He said, referring to Zelda as if she was just a normal person. 

“We’re here?” Koyin looked at who he was referring to and almost threw up his lunch as he quickly fell down on one knee. “Y-your highness, forgive me for not noticing you there earlier.”

Zelda was happy to just listen to Link having a normal conversation with someone who wasn’t her. No talk of destiny, the master sword or the coming Calamity, just old friends catching up. “Oh please, no need to apologize. And please stand, why don’t you sit with us? We were just finishing up our lunch.” 

Koyin looked at Link in confusion, almost as if to ask if he heard her correct. The Princess of Hyrule and the incarnation of the Goddess Hylia asked him to sit with her and Link. “Come on buddy, what are you star struck? Sit your ass down.”

Link sat back down, next to Zelda as Koyin sat across from them. Link went back to eating his food, chuckling at the still shocked Koyin. Zelda on the other hand was used to this so already had questions ready to spark up some conversation. “So how did you and Link meet?”

“Hm? Oh! Me and Link? Well, it’s not really that interesting I’m afraid. Both of our Pa’s were in the military, both knights who served around Hyrule together. So when his Dad gets a career ending injury around the same time that I was born, mine decided to call it quits.” He had to take a breath, not realizing he was starting to ramble. “So Link’s Pa grew up in Hateno, so it only made sense. We’ve been best friends since...well as long as I can remember.”

“Well, there was that one time a few years ago when your younger brother kissed my sister, and I vowed to protect her honor and threatened to beat him up over it.” Link interjected, clearly amused. “We made up, as you can see.”

“To be fair, the little twerp was asking for it.” Koyin said with a laugh, starting to relax a bit. “You should have seen how furious Link was, Princess. I’ve never seen him more mad, he chased my little brother around the farm three times before my Pa finally stepped in.” 

Zelda couldn’t help but giggle imagining the scene. “Sounds like you have plenty of dirt on Link then. I would love to hear whatever you have to say, he’s a tough nut to crack.”

Link let out a huff while shaking his head. He knew that she’d try and get as much dirt as she could. “Careful what you say Koyin. I love you like a brother, so just remember that.” 

“I’m well aware. Let’s see, there are a lot of options I could choose from.” Koyin said, tapping his chin. “Oh! Well there was this one time when I found him-”

“Koyin, stop annoying the Princess and get back to your post!” Captain Kokori yelled from on top of the battlements. Koyin immediately got to his feet and gave the captain a salute and a “Yes Sir!” Kokori looked satisfied so he walked away, Koyin looked back at Link with a sad smile.

“Well, I better get back to it. It was a pleasure to meet you, Princess. Take care of yourself Link.” He said, walking over to Link and giving him another hug. 

“Same to you.” Was all Link said, returning the embracing giving him a pat on the back. They broke apart and Koyin raced up the steps to the wall. Link watched his friend with a smile on his face, this whole trip he was worried about how people from home would react to him now that he had the Master Sword. Would they look at him in shock or wonder, or would they avoid them seeing as how the return of the Sword meant that the Calamity was soon approaching. But, if Koyin was anything to go off of, maybe there wouldn’t be much change. His thoughts were interrupted by Zelda giving him a nudge, asking if he wanted to get going again. He nodded his head and they went to go get their horses ready for the rest of the way to Hateno.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! Be sure to comment on different ways I can improve!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit shorter, I wanted to start getting these out a bit quicker. Anyway, hope you enjoy!

Link was finally home, or almost home. 

After riding all afternoon, the two travelers had reached the outskirts of Hateno Village. While it was technically a village, it looked anything but. Instead of normal homes, there were farms and instead of a marketplace where rupees were exchanged, all the locals bartered with each other. A Village where there was always a chance of a Bokoblin breaking into your home was no village in Link’s opinion. When Link was growing up, he assumed every village was like Hateno, sparsely populated and having to deal with Bokoblin and Moblin raids constantly. But after he left and saw the rest of Hyrule, he learned fairly quickly that Hyrule as a whole wasn’t a dangerous place. He should have seen it sooner, afterall there wasn’t a fort protecting Deya Village or Lurelin Village. 

Link shook his head as they passed by a pasture filled with bulls and cows grazing. He knew he was just trying to distract himself from the fact that he was home. He knew that if he didn’t distract himself with something that he would go insane just from anxiety. At least when he was back at Hyrule Castle, he could always pretend that everything was alright in his letters to his family, pretend that he wasn’t losing sleep at the thought of his “destiny”. He could straight up lie to his mom about everything through a letter, but he knew that if he had said those things to her in person she would see right through him. She knew him better than anyone, even himself. And that was what scared him the most, he needed to keep up the image of the Hero, even for his mom and sister. 

“You should have told me how beautiful Hateno was, Link! I would have had us visit sooner.” Zelda said, looking at all the cows they were passing. She was in her element out here, out in the wild surrounded by nature and beauty, not stuffed in some castle where everyone tried to push who they thought was best for her with no regard for what she wanted. 

Link tried to put those negative thoughts to the back of his mind and try not to ruin her good mood. He couldn’t think of anything to say so all he did was shrug his shoulders. She gave him an odd look but didn’t say anything else, going back to taking in the scenery. He could tell that she knew something was up with him, but she left him be for the time being. He knew that if she asked him about it, he would tell her everything but he could never initiate that, just something about it made him feel like a burden on her.

He knew he had to say something, so as soon as he saw Purah’s Lab become visible he spoke up. “There’s Purah’s Lab, you want to head straight there? We should get there in time for dinner. If Purah even eats.”

“Haha, I’m sure she does at some point. But, she actually isn’t expecting us until tomorrow, so I would actually like to meet your family.” She looked away from him suddenly sounding nervous, “If..if that’s fine with you.” 

“Oh, of course!” Link had to admit he was a bit surprised. He imagined that being let off of her father's leash would have her jump at any chance to tinker or study ancient technology, and he didn’t for a second believe that Purah would let a schedule stop her from reaching the Princess about her studies. “Of course! I was expecting you to go straight to the lab, but I’m more than happy to have you meet them. Let’s just hope my mom doesn’t mind two unexpected guests.” He said that last part under his breath. 

“Great! I just didn’t want to impose, I know it’s been awhile since you’ve seen them and I didn’t want to get in the way.” She said, clearly relieved.

“”Please, you can never impose on me. And I’m sure that they’ll love you.” He said with a smile, reaching over to her and giving her hand a squeeze. She returned the gesture with a smile as they continued towards the town proper. There was what looked like a gate to the town with an older man standing guard with a spear. As soon as he saw the two approach, he moved from his spot resting against the gate to the middle of the road, his spear at the ready. Link knew that this was standard protocol, so he positioned his horse in front of Zelda’s, shielding her from the man's spear. 

“Stop there! State your business.” The man barked at the two. 

“We’re here visiting my family.” Link responded coolly.

“And who would they be?” The man said.

“Whyla and Aryll.” Link replied, he knew that it was what they were trained to do as a guard. Everyone generally knew everybody around here so he hoped the guard would recognize their names. 

“You’re Whyla’s boy? Well, why didn’t you say so! Go on ahead.” The man said, clearly relaxing his stance with his spear falling to his side as he went back to his post. Link nodded his head at the man before moving on through the town. Looking around the town center, he wasn’t surprised to see it baren with it being dinner time for most families. They passed a few farms, a chorus of laughter heard from the road as families enjoyed each other's presence. Link’s home was a ways up the hill, relatively close to Purah’s Lab so they still had a ways to go. They continued on in a comfortable silence, with Zelda taking in all of the sights and comforts of the quiet village. Link on the other hand, was quietly bracing himself for seeing his mom and sister again. 

Twisting and turning up the hill, the weight in Link’s stomach got heavier and heavier with every stomp his horse took. He didn’t realize until Zelda‘s horse almost bumped into his but he was slowing his horse to a snail's pace. He shook off her concern, just saying that he was taking in the view and what a view it was, so she believed him. She went back to looking out towards the sun setting behind Mt. Lanayru, the beauty of the sight momentarily distracted her from what sat waiting for her at the summit. She shook her head, this was her one chance to forget about her worries for just a week, and enjoy what she loved doing the most. Studying, experimenting and spending time with Link. 

“We’re here.”

Link stopped Epona in her tracks as he took in his childhood home, it looked...smaller. And...different. Instead of a grain storage there was a barn meant for cows, bulls and horses. He spent his entire childhood working the wheat fields, not milking cows or breeding horses. Zelda’s hand on his shoulder brought him back to the present. 

“Well, I wouldn’t have expected anything less. It’s a nice place to raise a family, definity better than in a Castle.” She said with a laugh, squeezing his shoulder. 

“Could have been worse, come on. Let’s stop gawking.” Link brought them closer to the house, up to the stable beside the house. He got off Epona and offered Zelda a hand off of her horse. He tied them up quickly and removed their saddles. He grabbed two apples and fed them to the two weary horses, tired from a long day of travelling. 

“Zelda, you want to give Storm an apple?....Zelda?” He turned his head expecting to see the Princess standing by her horse, she wasn’t. He got nervous for a second, thinking that a Yiga may have followed them and kidnapped her when his back was turned for the first time all day. He unsheathed the Master Sword, hearing voices outside he quietly approached the door to the stable, not wanting the enemy to hear him. He ajar-ed the door, seeing Zelda talking to someone, although he could not see who. Realizing she wasn’t getting kidnapped by Yiga, he lowered his sword as he opened the stable door. 

“Zelda why...did...you...leave…”

“Hi Sweetheart.” A familiar, maternal voice said with a smile.

“Mom?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go! Six chapters in and we finally meet the mom sort of.


	7. Chapter 7

His mom didn’t reply, only running to her wide eyed son and pulled him into a bone crushing hug. It took a few seconds, but Link wrapped his arms around his mom, returning the hug. He must have grown a few inches over the past year, seeing as how his mom’s head was tucked under his chin, whereas before he left, they were almost equal in height. Looking over at Zelda, he saw her smiling at him, no hint of sarcasm, just a genuine smile that was like the sun. After nearly a minute, he figured his mom should let him breath.

“...uh, Mom? C-can’t breath.” He finally said, breaking the silence. 

“Hm? Oh! I’m sorry, sweetheart. I guess I got carried away, I..I missed you.” She let go and held him at arm's length. Link didn’t fail to notice how watery her eyes were. “Look at you, you got big! You look just like your father!”

“I missed you too, Mom. You and Aryll both, more than anything.” He said, ignoring the pang in his chest just at the mention of his father. Looking at his mom, he got a real good look at her for the first time. She hadn’t changed much, with her dark brown hair and blue eyes. Those who knew Link’s father thought that he was a perfect reflection of him, and they were right for the most part. From the dirty blonde hair to his chin and nose, but not his eyes. His eyes were all his mom. The more he looked he could see slight differences, like how he spotted more grey hair and wrinkles than he remembered. 

“So, Link who's your friend? I was about to find out until you jumped out of the barn.” His mom said as she put her hands on her hips.

“Oh! Right..um, Mom this is Princess Zel-” 

“I know who she is, boy! I’m just yanking your chain!” She said with a laugh. Ah, now he remembered where he got his sarcasm from. She then turned to Zelda and bowed, “With that being said, it is an honor and privilege to have you visit our home, Princess.” 

“Please, just call me Zelda. And the honor is all mine, you have a beautiful home, Mrs. Forrester.” Zelda returned the bow, then looking out at the fields behind the house. 

“Well if you insist, if I call you Zelda, then call me Whyla, none of this Mrs. Forrester. Don’t make me feel older than I already am.” She said, smiling at the Princess. “Now, you two got here just in time. Aryll should be back any minute and dinner is almost ready, so come on in.”

Link grabbed Zelda’s gear, earning him an odd look from her. “Look, if the first thing my mom sees is me making the Princess of Hyrule carry her own things, I’ll never hear the end of it.” He whispered into her ear as they followed his mom to the front door. 

“Far enough, Sir Knight.” She said with her trademark smile. 

When they got inside, Link felt like he was brought back to when he was just a sixteen year old farm boy, not an eighteen year old holding the weight of the world in his hands. His home was really just one big room, with a large loft upstairs. The downstairs had the kitchen and some extra space for storage, while the loft had five beds. Thankfully there were enough beds for all of them, because of course he would be the one to sleep on the floor. 

“Link?”

His mom’s voice broke him from his trance, realizing he had just been standing in the doorway, looking around the house. “Sorry, I just..sorry.”

His mom ruffled his mop of dirty blonde hair with a smile. “Go put the Princesses belongings upstairs and then help with dinner would you?” 

“Yes ma’am.” was his only reply before heading up the stars to the loft. There were paintings on the wall going up the stairs that he completely forgot about. The largest one was a professionally done painting of his mother and father. His father in his armor and mother in a dress, he remembered how they got it done before they were married. The other paintings were mainly ones that either Link or his sister did when they were young and his mom just didn’t have the heart to take them down. Making it up the stairs, he put Zelda’s pack on the bed closest to the stairs and headed back down. 

“Mrs. Forrest-sorry, Whyla, I must ask, are you from Castletown? Over the past few days all the people I’ve talked to have had the same rural accent, but your accent sounds like Castletown.” He heard Zelda ask his mom as he walked down the stairs. 

“You have a good ear, my dear. Yes I am from Castletown originally, grew up right across the road from the Cathedral, mother was a devout follower.” His mother said, not looking away from the cooking pot. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you come to live in Hateno?” Link could hear hesitance in Zelda’s voice, she learned the hard way that asking about someone's past can bring up bad memories.

“Oh, I don’t mind at all. Goddess knows my children have heard these stories a thousand times. It’ll be nice to share with someone new.” His mother said, turning to Zelda with a motherly smile. Whipping away any trepidation that the Princess had, ten turning her attention back to the cooking pot. “Well, you can thank Link’s father for my relocation. My family wasn’t the richest, so when I was old enough I got a job at a popular tavern in town. Mother was horrified that her only daughter would work in such a sinful place. But, we needed the money. Pass me the hearty truffles, would you Link?” 

Link knew that his mom was all business when cooking, so he followed her request without delay. “Here, mom.”

“Thank you, sweetheart. Anyway, after working there for a few weeks, a lot of the local soldiers recognized me. I got a lot of offers of courtship from many drunk knights, so one time this soldier tried to get me to dance. I refused so one of his friends dragged him home. So the one who dragged the drunk soldier came back the next day with an apology and fifty rupees for my trouble, that was Link’s father.” She dropped the truffles into the pot, and started to mix the ingredients. “I gave him back his rupees and after a long conversation, we became friends and over time well….we got married and moved out here. We both agreed that raising a child in Castletown wasn’t the best idea, and their father was born and raised here in Hateno, and had this house so it was the best situation.”

Zelda didn’t know what to say, since she was born all of the other mothers she knew were either born into the nobility or married into it. Most stories of how they met was either they saw each other at a ball or they hadn’t even met and their parents arranged it. 

Before Zelda could say anything in response, Whyla announced that dinner was ready and grabbed four bowls from one of the counters. “Aryll better get here soon, or else she’ll have to eat it cold again.” 

“Again? She's been making a habit of this?” Link asked as he grabbed both him and Zelda a bowl.

“Yeah, she’s out with friends almost every night now, she’s a growing girl.” Whyla said, filling Link and Zelda bowls.

Link sat down at the table next to Zelda, setting her bowl down in front of her. “Thank you, Link. It smells amazing, Whyla. Link’s cooking has got me through more than I care to admit, so when he told me you taught him how to cook, I’ve been excited to try you cooking.” Zelda said, giving Link a side glance. Link only blushed and looked at his lap at the praise. 

“My, that’s high praise from a Princess. I only hope that it tastes just as good. Dig in!” Whyla said, not missing the look she gave Link. 

Link didn’t need any more convincing, so he quickly grabbed his spoon and ate nearly half of the stew just as Zelda and his mother looked on in amusement in Zelda's case and shock in his mother's case. “Link! Have some manners in front of the Princess! And here I thought all of those fancy banquets would force you to eat like a normal person.”

“Oh, don’t worry it’s quite alright, if anything it makes those dreadful feasts bearable.” Zelda said through a laugh. It's not like Link didn’t hear what they said, he simply chose to ignore them and focus on eating. As good as the cooks at the Castle were, nothing compared to his mother's cooking. 

Zelda was just as amazed with Whyla’s cooking, letting her opinion know by going in for another spoonful. “Now, i joked about this with Link. But, I would be fully willing to fire the head chef at the Castle and hire you right now.” Zelda said with a full mouth.

“Haha, I must say it is a tempting offer. Especially if my food makes the Princess of Hyrule talk with her mouth full.” Both the women laughed, with Link just listening to their back and forth. Link realized something right then and there, listening to Zelda talk with his mom like they had known each other for years. 

He missed being home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aryll's coming next chapter I promise! I was originally going to have her be introduced as dinner was being made. But, decided against it. Sorry for the wait, I'm trying to get these out more often


	8. Chapter 8

“If my father could see me now…”

Link could only chuckle, not looking away from the dirty dishes in front of him. After dinner, his mother thought it would be best if Zelda and him handled clean up duty while she went to go look for his sister. He could tell she was surprised when he accepted without any fuss, expecting him to put up a fight. She left before he could change his mind, leaving the two teenagers alone for the first time since arriving here. “He wouldn’t approve?”

“Oh Goddess no! The Princess of Hyrule cleaning her own dishes, doing something that was meant for a servant. Not to mention I’m alone without a chaperon, well atleast one I’m not having an affair with.” She said with a smile but not taking her eyes off the dishes. 

That made him finally look away from the dishes and at the side of her head, she could feel his gaze on her and that only made her smile grow. “Affair? Is that what you’re calling this? And here I thought we were betrothed.”

Like him, she dropped the dish she was cleaning into the soapy water of the sink and turned around, resting her back against the counter as she crossed her arms. “If you play your cards right, farmboy.” 

Link could tell that she was joking, but that still didn’t stop him from blushing. “Oh! Well...I-I hope I do play them right then.” He turned away from her, his sole attention returning to getting the dishes clean. Link shouldn’t have been surprised when he felt her arms snake around his chest, nearly making him drop his dish.

“Did I ever tell you how cute you are when you blush?” He heard her say, with her ear against his back. When he didn’t respond, she moved to his side so that she could see his face, a look of concern on her face. “Link? I’m not...overstepping my bounds am I? I understand if you want to take it slow.” 

“No!” Dropping the dish, he turned to Zelda fully, a look of distress on his face. “I didn’t mean….you know how awful I am when it comes to these things. I didn’t mean to come off as though you were overstepping your bounds.”

“Oh thank Hylia, I was worried I did something I shouldn’t have. Although, we haven’t really exactly talked about us since well...you know.” Now it was her turn to blush.

“Yeah, I wanted to but you know how I am with words. I knew if I said anything I’d say something stupid.” He heard her giggle at that. 

“Saying stupid things is your trademark. But in all seriousness Link, I want you to know that I want….whatever you want to call this, to work.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “I don’t know what the future will bring, neither of us do. If I don’t unlock my power w-”

“You will.”

“....your faith in me is something I will never understand. Just indulge me for a moment, if I don’t unlock my power it is very unlikely that either of us will survive. So, if that’s the case, I want my last few months alive to be well spent and with the person who I grew to...have feelings for.” He could see her blush at that last part, she wanted to say something else but chose not to at the last moment. 

Link covered her hand with his own, his thumb going over her knuckles. “Hm, I’d like that too.” 

She visibly relaxed at that, letting out a sigh as she moved her free hand to Link’s cheek. “I would to. We’ll have to be subtle, at least in the Castle. As much as my father respects you, I know with absolute certainty that he would never approve of this.” Referring to their linked hands. “He’s a firm believer in tradition, so marrying his only daughter to someone outside of the nobility will be sacrilege to him. And on the very small chance that I do unlock my powers, then he will finally push me to get married, so I can’t really promise anything. I would understand if that makes you not want to be with me, goddess maybe this is a bad ide-” 

Link cut her off with a kiss, pulling away after a few seconds with a laugh. “Zelda, you’re rambling again. You said yourself, we’ll live for ourselves for now at least. That means just us, not your father or any suitors, and when we defeat the Calamity,” He said, putting emphasis on when. “We’ll have to play it by ear.”

He knew that look on her face, she was thinking. “Ok.” She finally said with a smile. 

“Ok, now as much as I do enjoy talking about the one thing that makes me talk like a bumbling idiot, we do still have a few dishes left.” Giving her hand a squeeze before he let go and returned to the sink. 

She giggled as she took her spot next to him, their sides touching. “If you insist.”

For the next few minutes the only sound was the occasional clang from two dishes hitting each other or a cow mooing in the barn. It was almost eerie for Link, his childhood home being so quiet. His sister was a bundle of energy that would drive his mother and father crazy, apparently he was the same way, “You can thank your father for that” his mom would always say. But, this silence wouldn’t last long. The sounds of the dishes and the livestock were getting over powered by what sounded like a little girl complaining outside. Link could only hear so much, but he could piece together the words “mom” and “fun”, thinking it was just some kid from town he paid it no mind. That was, until it got closer. Eventually he heard two sets of footsteps in the porch outside and he could feel his heart beat faster. 

The sound of the door opening made him turn around. “But, Mooooom, I was having fun! I’m not some kid anymore I’m...I’m…” The little girl's voice trailed off as she saw who was home. “Link!”

He dropped the rag he was using to clean the dishes as he dropped to his knees, a blur of dirty blonde hair ran into him, wrapping its arms around his neck with all its strength. He let out an “oof” in surprise, his little sister grew up while he was gone. “I missed you.” He heard her say, muffled by his neck. 

“I missed you too, squirt.” He said with a laugh, rubbing up and down her back. Looking over her shoulder, Link could see his mom smiling. He must have been imagining how watery her eyes were. He took a shaky breath himself, Link knew he would be like this seeing his mom and sister again, but he must have spent too much time preparing for his mom. 

After what felt like a few minutes, in reality a half minute, Aryll loosened her grip on Link’s neck. She was crying, as expected. She cried just as much, if not more when he left for the army, when he promised her he would be back for her birthday. He brought his hand up to her face and wiped the tears away. “Hey, you got big.”

She laughed, tears still falling down her cheeks. “Y-yeah….I’m a grown up now, being eight is no joke.” 

“I bet it is, you helping mom around the house? I bet you do all the work.” He said, earning a dirty look from the woman in question. 

She laughed again, Goddess how he missed that sound. All of a sudden her smile disappeared as she looked over Link’s shoulder. He followed her gaze and saw Zelda smiling back at him. “Oh! I forgot to introduce you two, Aryll this is Zelda, she’s a friend of mine. Zelda this is Aryll, a pain in my behind.” 

Zelda walked over to the two siblings, getting on her knees and holding a hand out for Aryll. “It’s so nice to meet you, Link’s told me all about you.”

Aryll didn’t shake Zelda's outstretched hand, only shouting out, “You’re pretty! Are you Link’s girlfriend?” 

The two in question turned blood red at the question. But, before Zelda could give a response, Whyla came to her rescue. “Aryll! You don’t ask strangers questions like that! Now come on it’s been a long day, I’m sure these two would like to get some rest.”

“But Link just got home!” The girl shot back, gripping onto Link’s blue Champion tunic. 

“We’re going to be here for a few days, squirt. We’ll have plenty of time to do whatever you want, ok?” Link said, giving her head a rub messing up her already frazzled hair. 

“....fine. But, tomorrow!” She shot back, pointing in his face.

“Tomorrow.” 

Whyla quickly shooed the little girl to bed, Link and Zelda following not long after. Zelda changed into her sleepwear and fell face first into the mattress, hearing a groan from her. Looking away from Zelda, he saw his mom tucking Aryll into bed and giving her a quick kiss on the forehead before heading to her own bed and blowing out the candle. It had been a few days since he had slept in a bed, so he found himself getting closer and closer to sleep, he felt something poke his back. Rolling over, he saw Aryll with her blanket against her chest with a pleading look on her face. 

“Can I….I missed you and I was wondering if..” He heard her whisper.

Link didn’t need her to finish for him to understand what she was trying to say. He didn’t reply, only giving her a smile and lifting up his blanket. She took the invitation and snuggled under the blankets with her head on top of his stomach. Before he knew it she was sound asleep. He smiled at the sight, giving her a kiss on the top of her head, then resting his head on his pillow. He meant to take a glance at Zelda, just to make sure she was asleep. But, he was met with her green eyes staring at him. 

He smiled back at her, outstretching an arm at her. She did the same, giving his hand a squeeze. Link didn’t want to wake Aryll, so he mouthed “Good night.”. She did the same and soon both were fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I am failing at my goal of getting these out sooner. Kudos and comments appreciated!


	9. Chapter 9

“Had I known you gave such amazing piggyback rides, I’d have asked for one.” 

“I’m a man of many talents, Your Highness.” 

If there was one thing that Link missed about being home was sleeping in his bed. Not the sleeping bag that he had become very well acquainted with over the past few months of traveling all over Hyrule or the “beds” in the barracks back at the castle. Although calling those beds is a strong word, more like the floor with pillows and a blanket. No waking up to a bug in his mouth or a squirrel deciding that his sleeping bag was a perfect place to relieve its bowels, instead he woke up to Aryll’s head on his chest, her small hand taking a fistful of his undershirt, she was muttering in her sleep. 

He lost track of time just laying there, enjoying the moment. Something that he often ruined, according to Zelda. He woke up just as the sun was rising, when someone finally woke up, that person being his mother, the sun was fully over the horizon. He must’ve been awake longer than he thought. 

As soon as his mom was awake, his sister was not very far behind. And unlike last night where she gave up her protests rather quickly, she wasn’t going to let that happen today. Before she got out of bed, he was listening to all the things that they would see and do over the next few days, and for the first time since meeting him, Zelda saw him fully relaxed just listening to his sister ramble on and on. The first thing on Aryll’s itinerary was to go on a relaxing, harmless walk around town, at least that’s what she told her mother. It was really just a cover, what she really wanted to do was go shield surfing and Link was all too happy to oblige. 

“I hid some pot lids and shields up that hill, behind the tree.” Aryll said atop Link’s shoulders as they reached the base of said hill. The hill wasn’t too tall, thankfully. Link didn’t know what he would do if he learned that she was shield surfing on a more steeper hill, he made it perfectly clear to stick to the smaller ones while he was away. While it wasn’t that big, that by no means it was small being a couple dozen yards high. Link knew that if he didn’t give Aryll a hill she deemed “grown up enough”, she would go off and try a hill way too intense for her.

“Mom hasn’t noticed her lids mysteriously going missing?” He asked, walking up the hill with Zelda in tow.

He felt her push her face into his unruly hair, no longer held into a ponytail. When she finally did speak after a short pause, it was muffled against his head. “Please, she’s too busy with the farm to notice anything I do.” 

Although she made it sound like she was joking, he didn’t miss the sadness in her voice, even as muffled as it was. He didn’t push or pry, he knew his sister and unfortunately she was a lot like him in this regard. Knowing that she would talk to him about it eventually, he gave her foot a reassuring squeeze as they reached the top of the hill. Sure enough, there were a few pot lids and one very old wooden shield that had clearly seen better days. 

Aryll got herself out of her brief stupor and practically jumped off of his shoulders and picked up a pot lid. Not waiting for the other two she jumped onto the lid and raced down the hill, “Last one there is a rotten koko egg!” Her laughter got quieter and quieter the further down the hill she went.

Zelda and Link joined in on her laughter for different reasons, Link letting out a low chuckle and Zelda a high giggle. “My my, I wonder where she got her love of doing dangerous activities. It couldn’t have been you.” 

She closed the gap between them and grabbed both of his hands and pulled him towards the other lids and shields. “Oh this isn’t dangerous, not if she does it right that is.” He shot back looking down at the bottom of the hill, seeing Aryll at the bottom sticking her tongue out at him before making the long journey back up the hill, her shield being dragged behind her the whole way.

“I’m surprised you are allowing her to do this. It just doesn’t seem the “protective older brother” type.” Zelda said with a smile, although Link could tell she was being serious. 

He let out a laugh at that before looking back down at his sister making her way up, not looking away from his sister he said, “I didn’t for a long time actually. You were right, I was the protective older brother who didn’t let his little sister do anything fun just in case she hurt herself. Goddess knows I didn’t trust myself when it came to teaching her how to do reckless things. And she hated me for it believe me, but I just couldn’t stomach the thought of her getting hurt.”

“So what changed?” Zelda asked, hoping that she wasn’t overstepping. She heard him sigh, eyes still not looking away from Aryll.

“Well, Dad died and…” Link had to clear his throat before continuing. “And um, well she was even worse off than I was, if you could believe it.” 

Zelda ended up right by Link’s side grabbing hold of his arm with both hands and gave it a squeeze. She had never heard him open up like this before, she didn’t know why now he decided to finally tell her more about his family life. Maybe it was that he was home again or because of the...change in their relationship over the past few days, but if she was honest with herself, she didn’t care about why. Link brought his free hand and rested it on top of one of her own. 

“She just sat inside all day and didn’t talk, never smiled or ate. She rarely slept considering the amount of times she woke up with nightmares about Dad and wanted to sleep in my bed.” He let go of Zelda's hand for a moment to run it through his hair. “I wasn’t any better, but I could handle it for the most part. She couldn’t, so one day I just decided to take her to the small hill behind the farm and taught her how to shield surf. I was a nervous wreck the whole time, worrying how she’d fall and break something but I saw her smile for the first time in weeks so I think it was worth it. And from there, well she was growing up and no matter how protective I was, I couldn’t stop her from doing what she wanted.” 

Zelda was stunned into silence, he finally opened up to her, not about his struggles with being the Hero, but his struggles he faced as a person. Zelda was about to say something when she heard Aryll had finally made it to the top of the hill. “Uh, hello! Why didn’t you follow me down? Scared that I was gonna beat you?”

Link slid out of Zelda's grasp and got them each a pot lid. “The opposite, squirt. We were just giving you a practice run, since you’re gonna need it when I beat you.”

“You beating me? I’ll have you know that I’ve been practicing and I doubt you have been.” She shot back.

“That a fact? You want to race and see who wins?”

“You know it! But, not just between us! I want to see Zelda beat you.” She shot the Princess a smile which she was all too happy to reciprocate. 

“I need to talk to mom and tell her to stop letting you say the craziest things.” Link said, shooting Zelda an amused look. “Tell you what, whoever wins gets whatever they want for the rest of the day. That includes you having to tell me that I’m better than you.”

Aryll weighed the risks in her head, on one hand if she lost she would have to say goodbye to her pride, but on the other hand the look on her brother's face if she won. “You’re on! Zelda?”

“If I get whatever I want when I win, of course.” The Princess said with a devious smile. 

With that, the three lined up at the top of the hill, Link positioned in between Zelda who was on his right and Aryll his left. Link gave Zelda a pat on the back, “Hey, you just want to lean into it, don’t try and-”

“I know how to do it. You think Urbosa would let me stay in Gerudo Town and not teach me out to shield surf. I know it’s not sand, but it’s the same basic concept, so stop worrying.” Link let his hand drop and go onto his lid. 

“Alright, ready?” Both Zelda and Link gave her a nod and she started her countdown. “Ok, on go. 1, 2, 3, go!” 

They all simultaneously jerked their bodies forwards, their momentum sending their shields down the hill, Link weighing the most was a clear advantage for him but that by no means meant his lead was insurmountable with Zelda not far behind. He shot the girl a confused look, a look that she laughed at when they locked eyes. Link clearly wasn’t expecting her to be that skilled at shield surfing, but he wasn’t going to let that get the best of him. Her laughter made him turn to look at her, and she was even with him, her hair now free of its braid was wildly flapping in the breeze. He had never seen her this happy outside of a lab, something he didn’t want to ruin. Sure, they were about even and could easily tie as they got closer and closer to the bottom of the hill and he knew that she could handle losing their little race. But, he just wanted to see her happy, so against his better competitive judgment he slowed down enough so that Zelda had a slight lead over him. The two reached the bottom of the hill and Zelda was the clear winner, with Aryll reaching the bottom a second or two later in last.

“Goddess! Link, that was so much fun! We need to do that again!” She said, practically bouncing in her toes. 

“That it was, you should have told me about how good you were at this.” He said walking over to her and putting his hands on her shoulders. 

“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.” She whispered into his ear, making him shudder. Aryll decided that now was the right time to join the conversation. 

“See! I told you that she would be you, Link!” She said triumphantly. 

“She beat you too, squirt.” Link shot back, giving the girl a noogie earning a google from the little girl.

“I didn’t care about winning, only about you losing.”

“Right. Come on, let’s go put these back up there and get some food.” Link said as he picked Aryll up and put her onto his shoulders, heading up the hill.

Zelda’s hands grabbing his own hand stopped him in his tracks. “The person who won gets whatever they want right?” Her smile was unmistakably mischievous. 

She didn’t let him answer before her hands cupped his cheeks and locked lips with Link, taking both him and Aryll completely by surprise. And it was because of the little girl that the kiss didn’t last long, the Princess breaking the kiss only a few seconds after initiating it. 

“You uh...are pretty good at more than just shield surfing.”

“I’m a woman of many talents, Sir Knight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a hot minute right? Anyway, I hope this was worth the wait! I'm in the process of outlining how the rest will go so hopefully I'll be able to finish this soon. Comments and kudos are appreciated!


	10. Chapter 10

“I didn’t teach you how to do manual labor, only for you to forget about it when you went to go play soldier! Now stop staring and help me with this.”

Link knew that going home was a double edged sword,while he got all the benefits from sleeping in an actual bed and finally seeing his family again, he also had to help his mom around the farm, which he really didn’t mind. If he was completely honest, he was actually glad to finally get some alone time with his mother. Well, half glad, his other half was terrified that she would ask him...questions. Questions that he either didn’t have answers to or answers he didn’t like. 

As much as he dreaded being one on one with his mom, he was surprised that he was even given a chance to be alone with her. He had expected he’d have to ask to talk with her in private, seeing as how he imagined Aryll would be attached to his leg during his time at home. But, Whyla sent her on an errand so for the moment, at least he was free of her grasp. 

Zelda was less expected. As much as she loved to spend time with him and his family, she had to go see Purah and her lab at some point. She wanted him to come, but his mom had other plans.

“Hope you haven’t forgotten how to milk a cow.” His mom commented as he sat down next to the aforementioned cow. 

“It’s hard to forget, especially after how you and dad taught me.” He shot back, pulling on the cows udders and filling the bucket beneath her with milk. 

“Oh please! It took me and him ages to convince you that you weren't, as you put it “squeezing out the cows life juice”.” He felt his mom ruffle his hair. 

“Dad wasn’t helping when he screamed whenever milk came out.” Link muttered, half smiling at the memory. 

“You learned didn’t you?” His mom said, also smiling.

Their smiles disappeared as the happiness of the memory still left a pang of sadness or guilt in the pit of their stomachs. Link didn’t realize he was squeezing the cows udder harder than intended, his mind still far away. The cow’s moo brought him back, letting his grasp loosen. “Sorry, girl.” He said, patting her side, returning back to milking her. 

Link didn’t realize that he mom was still looking at him for a few minutes until his bucket was full and went to get a new one. His mom met his eyes as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders as she let out a shaky breath. “You know he’d be proud of you right?”

He didn’t need any indication as to who “he” was. If he was honest with himself, he would disagree with that. All he did was pull a sword out of a rock that indicated the end of the world, not something to be proud of but something to be ashamed of. What was worse was that his father had taught him that a good soldier should never be afraid for his well being, only those he was protecting. And while he was scared for his friends, family and Zelda most of all, he was frankly terrified at the thought of dying. Link let out a laugh, but there was nothing genuine about it. “I highly doubt that.”

Letting go of her son, she held him at arms length but kept her hands on his shoulders. Link wasn’t looking at her, preferring to look at a rock on the ground, trying to look at anything but his mother’s blues eyes. She grabbed the sides of his face and brought his gaze to meet hers. “Look at me Link.”

He begrudgingly did as she said, although he could not keep it for long, looking down after a second or two. “Talk to me, please.”

Link sighed, knowing that his mom wasn’t one to let him off easy, she wasn’t going to drop this any time soon. “About...about what?”

“Link.” She shot back with authority. “You can keep acting like nothing's wrong, but don’t think me so clueless that I don’t notice you dealing with something. And I have a sneaking suspicion as to the cause.”

He knew that this was coming. Hell, he was kind of glad that he could vent finally, but as soon as he felt relief, guilt overcame it. His mom had enough problems already. 

“And before I hear you say that somehow my son's problems aren’t worth my time...well, don’t even say it.” She said with a small smile. “Goddess, you’re just like your father when it comes to this, I swear it’s like pulling teeth when it comes to you two. One time, it took him throwing up in bed for him to finally tell me he was sick!”

“I remember, we had to share a bed for a couple nights.” Even Link couldn’t resist smiling at the memory. “I...I don’t mean to be difficult. It’s just….I don’t want to be a bother. It’s stupid anyway.”

He felt a light slap on his shoulder as his mom backed away from him. “Don’t you ever say that! I know I joke with you a lot, but never when it comes to this. Tell me, and don’t you dare say it’s stupid.”

“Fine! I’ll tell you.” He threw his hands up in defeat as he paced around the barn in front of his mom, who never took her eyes off of him. “It’s just….you know how I am with words. I don’t know if I can put it into words.”

“Try me.”

He didn’t stop his pacing, his hands went up to grab fistfuls of his hair. After a few more seconds, he stopped and looked at her. “I’m….I’m afraid. Afraid of….well I don’t know, everything! Everyone expects me to be just like the Heros we all grew up hearing stories of. Shit, even one of them was a child and didn’t falter against evil! So what’s my excuse whenever someone tells me about how the entire Kingdom rests on our shoulders! That one of us can’t go a single day without almost having a panic attack thinking about the day when the Calamity finally arrives? What will that do to the Kingdom? That even the one who pulled the Sword that Seals the Darkness thinks we’re all doom!” 

His mom took a breath and was about to respond when he cut her off. “You say dad would be proud of me? What father would be proud of a son that had to leave his family just to provide for them because he failed to do what his father wanted. What father would be proud of a son that was stupid enough to pull the sword that spelt doom for the world. What father would be proud of a son that is terrified of losing the few people he cares for. I swear, I’m one person away from completely losing it!”

Link tried his best to stay composed, but the tremble in his voice during the last sentence of his rant showed how his facade was crumbling down. And it wasn’t just him who noticed. He barely had enough time to take a breath before his mother wrapped him in a familiar bone-crushing hug. For a split second, he felt his composure fall before taking a deep breath, stopping the tears that he knew were coming. 

“Link, you say how your father wouldn’t be proud of you because of what you see as your own shortcomings. Well, I say it’s because of those shortcomings that he would be proud of you.” Link went to interject, but was quickly hugged by his mom. “The reason you had to leave wasn’t because of your own failures. It was a long winter and a bad harvest, that has happened and will happen again, something that you had no control over. Sure, the last thing he wanted you to do was join the military like he did at your age. But, just like you he did it out of necessity. For his family to survive, he had to leave.”

“But he wou-”

“Second off, you think too highly of your father. He was a wonderful man, but he wasn’t infallible. He would have plenty of restless nights where he was terrified of losing me, you or your sister. And he was just a lowly knight, who had some favor in the King’s court before you came along. Not the Hylian Champion, who is barely an adult and is expected to, with the help of an equally unprepared Princess, save the world essentially. Not even the bravest, strongest knight would be able to handle that emotionally.” She ended with giving him one last squeeze before holding him at arm's length, trying to determine his reaction.

With him again, staring at the ground, it wasn’t clear as to what he was thinking until he finally looked up at her. If she was completely honest, she was shocked to see tears on his checks. Tears that he had tried so hard to keep back, even whipping them away hoping that she didn’t see his moment of vulnerability. She did.

“No you don’t.” She closed the distance between them yet again, holding his hands in an effort to prevent him from hiding his tears. While she wasn’t as strong as him and he could have easily broken her grasp, but he didn’t. For the first time in years, he let out a sob as more and more tears fell from his checks. Now it was his turn to wrap his mom in a tight hug, pushing his face into her neck. She didn’t flinch, only rubbing his back with one hand and playing with his hair with the other. “It’s ok, let it out, let it out.”

And goddess did he. He sure had a lot to unpack. They stood there for a while, how long he didn’t know. But she didn’t waver, only rubbing his back and shushing assurances into his ear. “You know that you have nothing to hide from me. In all those letters you sent to me, I knew you were lying. I knew you were holding back, don’t do that. I’m here for you, whether you’re happy or miserable. Understand?” 

He didn’t answer, not confident he would have been able to even speak, only nodding his head. “Good. You know, I talked with the Princess earlier while you were out with Aryll, I could tell she was just as scared as you. She thought I wouldn’t notice, but I did. I’m sure she feels just as much pressure, if not more than you. I’m glad you two have each other to lean on. As much as I love you, there is no way I would ever be able to relate to what you two are going through. But, I’m sure you know that more than I do.”

Link slowly peeled himself out of her grasp. His blue eyes were red and puffy, something she hadn’t seen for years. The tears have long stopped, so he tried his best to regain his lost composure by rubbing his eyes. “I do know…..she’s...she’s the only reason I haven’t gone crazy. She was that one person.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is! First time writing an emotional scene, so I hope that I delivered. Comments and Kudos are appreciated!


	11. Chapter 11

“Is there a reason why you’re staring at me, Link?”

He didn’t realize he was staring. He didn’t even know what he was looking at, seeing as how he’d been zoning out for the past few minutes. He knew that he got caught, but his embarrassment was gone as quickly as it came now that he didn’t have to sneak glances at her, worried that she’d wonder why her bodyguard was making googly eyes at her. Now that they were...whatever they were. Dating? Courting? They both made no move to put a label on what they were, so Link was content to just ride it out and see where it went. 

“Not entirely, give me another minute or so and I’ll come up with one.” He shot back after a few moments. He expected her to give him an equally sarcastic response, but instead she gave him a little smile and went back to her sketchbook. 

Uh oh. He knew that look. She was holding something back, not wanting to embarrass herself. The slight twitch of her brow paired with her eyes looking everywhere but the person in front of her. Over the past few months, he’d seen that look plenty of times. Whether it was after her father berated her in the throne room, with the whole court in attendance or some random noble asking her why she had not unlocked her powers yet. 

Usually she was holding back a rant about how she was trying everyday and night that she was able to try and unlock her powers. How she would stay in those Goddess forsaken Springs until her skin was blue and the hypothermia would start to set in. How Link would nearly have to drag her out as she would claw at him all while she was screaming at him to leave her there. 

So for her to be shooting him that look now gave Link some hesitation as to what to say next. Since being on the Princesses bad side for months on end, he had no intention of going back. 

“Something on your mind, Zelda?” He asked as neutrally as possible. 

He knew that she wasn’t really drawing anything, judging by the fact that the page she was on in her sketchbook only had a few scribbles on it. She was still working up the courage to say what she was thinking, and he knew from experience that she wasn’t going to say anything if not encouraged or in the more extreme cases, provoked. 

She put her stencil down and sighed, still not looking at him. After a few moments, Link was going to tell her to tell him what she was thinking, but just as he opened his mouth, she spoke. 

“Have you ever thought about running away?” She said, almost to herself as she looked straight ahead, Hateno Beach in the distance.

“Run away from what?” He said innocently.

“Oh please, don’t treat me like a child. You know what I mean.” She shot back, annoyed at his fake innocence. He threw his hands up in defeat. 

“Alright alright, you caught me. And yes, in the beginning at least. Those first few weeks after I pulled the sword out and was thrust into a world I knew nothing about, I thought about running back to that forest, putting the sword back, and running back home.” Link said. 

“What stopped you? I know I probably wasn’t helping matters.” She said with a smile, although it wasn’t genuine. 

“Not as much as you think. And don’t even start with that again, I wasn’t the easiest person to be around either. I was still trying to wrap my head around everything, they didn’t exactly give me time to process everything before knighting me and calling me the ‘Hero chosen by the Goddess.’” He let out a small chuckle. “I guess one of the reasons was when Impa sat me down and told me the stakes. I’m sure you were told the story about the Calamity since you were old enough to walk, but I wasn’t.”

“And knowing Impa, she told the most doom and gloom version of the story.” Zelda said with a genuine smile on her face at the thought of the Sheikah warrior.

“Mmhm. She isn’t really known for her subtlety. But that wasn’t the only thing that stopped me.” 

“Oh? Well, now you have my attention.” She shot back. 

“I’m glad I can capture a Princesses attention.” Link said with a toothy grin on his face.

“Careful, I don’t give my admirers compliments often. So don’t push your luck, Sir Knight. And don’t make me pull rank and order you to tell me your other reason.” She said the last part poking his chest. 

“If her royal highness commands me so.” Link even added an overly dramatic bow for good measure. “I guess the other reason was when we went to the Spring of Courage just the day after Impa talked to me.”

“Oh.” Any playfulness was gone as they both remembered that trip as if it were yesterday. 

“Yeah, I guess seeing you so willing to...sacrifice to awaken your powers really brought it home for me.” Link knew to keep it short and to the point, that night was upsetting for the both of them especially at the time. Link was so scared that Zelda would die on his watch and Zelda furious that her newest bodyguard would have the gaul to enter a holy spring and forcibly interrupt her prayers. 

“Anyway, why’d you ask me about running away? Thinking of abandoning me?” Link said, trying to get away from the unpleasantness that was their trip to the Spring of Courage. Guilty that he even brought it up. 

She seemed to be just as eager to change the subject, letting out a small, but genuine giggle. “No, it’s just….I don’t know. I used to threaten my father that I would after he started to assign guards to watch my every move. He thought that them keeping me safe and watching me day and night would help me focus on unlocking my powers. But it made it even worse! Instead of taking pressure off my shoulders, it only added more and more with each guard I got. I knew that my powers were a lost cause so I-”

“No they’re not.” 

“Just indulge me? I guess that since I figured that since my powers are lacking, why not just run away? It’s not like my father would miss me, since I’m apparently such a burden that he can’t even have dinner with me without inviting some noble that I could care less about. I just...I don’t know.” She ended by throwing her hands up in defeat.

“I think you do know. This is the first time I’ve heard you say this, what brought this on?” Link said, while rubbing her back with his hand in reassurance. “And before you say anything, no it’s not stupid.”

“But it is! Something as trivial as this shouldn’t make me feel this way!” She exclaimed.

“Well why don’t you tell me so I can decide for myself how stupid it really is.”

“Fine.” She took a moment or two and gathered her thoughts before continuing. “It…..I just have never seen you so relaxed and….well, happy.”

That took him by surprise to say the very least. But it did make sense, seeing as how whenever they were together at Hyrule Castle it was very rarely only the two of them so they had to keep up appearances, and whenever they were out of the castle for pilgrimages or research trips they were much shorter than either of them would have preferred. So this trip was a breath of fresh air for both of them, finally allowing themselves an opportunity to finally be their normal selves. 

“And seeing you with your family and how happy you all are together made me….long for that, I guess. Apart from you or Urbosa, I have never really had a real friend. Those other girls in court only care for gossip and fashion, so they weren’t really an option. And ever since mother passed...it’s just been me. Me and my books.” She added that last part with an unconvincing laugh.

“So I figured that maybe….if I left I could find some people to have a personal connection with. Who doesn't know me as a massive failure and like me for me, and not who everyone sees me as. See I told you it was stupid.”

“It’s not stupid. Last I checked you’re still a person, a person with feelings. And it’s completely normal to feel that way, especially with what you’ve been through. No normal person could have gone through everything that you have and have been able to come out the other side as well as you have. And if it’s any consolation, I’m not going anywhere.”

If he was surprised by her question, he was even more surprised by her response to what he just said. He had expected her to be tearing up by now, he wouldn’t have blamed her. But instead he saw a genuine smile looking back at him, as she reached for his other hand and squeezed it as hard as she could. “I know, and it means the world to me.”

That was all that needed to be said.

Using this as an opportunity to get closer, she scooted over until their sides touched as she rested on Link’s shoulder. Instead of trying to look out for any rogue Bokoblins or Mobilns, Link let his guard down and chose to just enjoy the moment. He had completely lost track of time by the time either of them moved. 

“I don’t want to leave.”

Link didn’t need any more explanation as to what she meant. Their trip was nearly over, as they had to leave the very next day. They had already pushed their luck, going a few days over schedule. This little getaway was supposed to only be a few days, not nearly a week and a half. 

“We’ll be back. I know we will.” 

Link said that more as a reassurance to himself than her. With Zelda’s seventeenth birthday only a few weeks away, their last chance to unlock her powers was quickly approaching as well. Their last chance to see if they were truly doomed. This wasn’t lost on the two, as they hadn’t just extended the trip to spend time away from the Castle, they had been trying to live their life to the fullest now for they might not have the chance later. 

“When it’s all said and done, I think that we would have earned a vacation longer than a week or two. And I have just the place to spend it.” She said nuzzling deeper into him, willing to ignore the harsh reality and just enjoy the fantasy of it all. 

“It’s a date then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been awhile to say the least. I just want to apologize for nearly a two month break between chapters, it was never my intention for them to be so spaced out. My original idea was to post at least one chapter a week but that was quickly thrown out the window once college started back up again. Even with it being virtual for the most part doesn't change the fact that it's college. And a word of advice, don't be a physics major if you want to remain sane. 
> 
> And my dog had passed away a few weeks ago when I was starting to get back to writing this and I didn't feel like doing anything for a few days after. So hopefully I'll be posting somewhat regularly, we're nearing the end maybe only another chapter or two. So thanks again for all the kudos and comments!


	12. Chapter 12

Link couldn’t remember the last time he had a moment to himself recently. 

That wasn’t exactly a bad thing, with his time being spent helping his mother around the house, keeping Zelda company while she was researching nature around Hateno or being Aryll’s personal escort around town. He was the happiest he’d been since his father passed all those years ago. And happiness was in short supply these days, especially the closer they got to Zelda’s birthday.

He shook his head, trying his best to shake those negative thoughts from his mind, at least for the moment. They only had another day left in Hateno before they would have to leave. He knew that it was selfish to want ever more time, considering that they had almost stayed here twice as long as originally planned. But he didn’t care, seeing his family after so long and especially seeing Zelda away from all the pressure and gossip really made his affection for the girl grow exponentially. 

With all of that being said, in all that time spent laughing, smiling and in some cases kissing, he had been seriously slacking on his training that he had done almost like clockwork every day. If he was at the castle and Zelda was meeting with her father or Impa, he’d go to the training grounds. If they had taken a break from travelling and there was time after cooking and setting up camp, he’d pull his sword out and practice on invisible dummies. But since being home, he never even pulled the sword from its scabbard.

So when Zelda told him that she needed his mother’s help with something before dinner and with Aryll Hylia knew where, he figured to at least try and get back into his old routine before it became a problem. And thankfully, unlike when he’d practice while in the Wild, his home had a makeshift training ground behind the barn, one that had not been used in years. Although calling it a training ground was an exaggeration. It was just two sacks filled with straw and hay that were tied to a post, but Link had made due with less before. 

With his sword in his hand, he made his way out of the house and towards the barn, hearing the various moos and neighs from the animals. Of course he’d pass different farms and pastures over the past year or two, but to him none of them sounded quite like home. 

As he listened to the sounds of the farm, he could make out one particular one that didn’t fit. It almost sounded like a low thump, clearly not caused by one of the animals in the barn. But strangely enough, the closer he got to the barn the louder the noise became, and the more confused Link became. His training momentarily was forgotten as he followed his ears as he rounded the corner of the barn and discovered the source of the noise. 

It was Aryll. 

And while her being the source of an odd noise wasn’t the strange part, it was how she was making that sound. She was hitting a stick against one of the old training dummies he and his father made all those years ago, when he was barely taller than Aryll was now. 

“Care to explain what you’re doing, squirt?”

A loud squeak escaped her lips as she let go of the stick mid swing in surprise, sending it flying and almost hitting Link square in the face. If her face got any redder, he’d have mistaken her for a red bokoblin. 

“I was just...practicing! Why? What does it matter? What are you doing?” She said after regaining some of her composure, though still visibly embarrassed for being caught. 

“Practicing. Or I was until you nearly hit me with a stick.” He said, with only a hint of sarcasm. 

When she didn’t smile back or at the very least give him a dirty look in response he knew something was up. She was looking down at her feet, not letting him see the look on her face. Without any hesitation, he dropped his sword and dropped to one knee so that he was eye level with her as he put a hand on her shoulder. He wasn’t going to force her to look up at him, knowing that she would do that on her own when she was ready. 

When she finally did, he felt his stomach drop. She was crying, but based off of the tears being held back only by a thread, she really wanted to. But with all of her might, she held it back. 

“Aryll, what’s wrong? Why are you so upset?”

“Nothing.” That was obviously a lie, she was too much like him for her own good.

“It’s not nothing. If there’s one thing you do Aryll, don’t be like me and bottle everything up. Please, talk to me.”

“Being like you is the problem!”

Link didn’t know what to say. He didn’t expect anything like that, he suspected that her being out here had something to do with their father, since both Link and him would spend hours training here.

“You know how hard it is being compared to you every single day? To be called “Link’s sister” or the “sword boy’s sister” instead of my name. I’m not a girl to them, I’m your sister and everyday I can tell how much mom misses you, so much so that she doesn’t even notice me since she’s so focused on you!” She said all in one breath. As she finished, the tears she fought so hard to hold back broke free and were starting to fall down her cheeks, one tear at a time. 

“I’m sorry, Aryll. I didn’t mean-”

“And that’s the thing! I’m not mad at you, I CAN’T be mad at you! That’s the worst part, I want to hate you but I can’t! It’s not my fault that you’re the best person I know, not your fault how amazing you are with a sword. It’s my ….fault for not being as good as you.” Her tirade quickly turned into babbling as her tears started to pour out of her, with snot falling from her nose. She had clearly been holding this in for a long time, and Link gave her credit for holding it in so long.

She couldn’t speak anymore, her words were replaced by sobs as Link pulled her into a tight embrace only an older brother could give. He just held her there, not wanting to rush her. But he heard her say something into his shoulder, but with it being completely muffled her couldn’t understand a word she said. 

“Say that again Aryll?”

She pulled away from his shoulder, her face red and eyes raw from all the tears, with a booger hanging out from her nose. “I….I just want to be as good as you.”

“Is that why you were practicing back here?” He already knew the answer. 

She nodded her head.

He held her at arms length while whipping her checks clean of tears, although it was pointless seeing as how more kept falling every second. He had only seen her this upset when their dad passed, although it was easier to comfort her then with the cause of her tears not being him. 

“Aryll, I….I don’t know what to say. And it kills me not knowing how to make this go away.” He sighed, putting a hand through her hair. 

“I know this isn’t what you would want to hear right now, but I feel like it’s the truth. You shouldn’t try and be like me, you want to know why? Because you’re not me, you’re you.You want to know how I know that?”

She nodded her head reluctantly.

“After dad died, I tried in every way imaginable to live up to him. I was never a good farmer, but dad was which meant that I should be a good one if I wasn’t a failure. I didn’t want to be a soldier, but dad was, which meant I was one too. It tore me apart for months, trying to find some way to be like him. Even wearing his earrings!” He pulled on his ears for emphasis. 

“It made me feel less like a person and more like I was trying to impersonate him, and for the most part I was! That’s no way to go through life Aryll.”

“What….what changed?” She asked, sounding like she was hanging onto every word he said. 

“I realized that I had my own destiny. That I wasn’t dad, and I had my own life to live. A life of finding out who I was as a person, not trying to be like someone else. You’re a smart girl, too much for your own good. You shouldn’t need others' approval to validate what you think about yourself. And you need to find out that you have your whole life ahead of you, where you can discover who you are, not who you think you’re supposed to be.”

She knew that he was right, but still wanted to put up some fight, after months of feeling this way she wasn’t going to get over it after just one conversation with him. “But….but what about Mom? Sh...she doesn’t care about me at all! She doesn’t even notice me.”

“Do you really believe that?” 

She expected him to reassure her that she was wrong or be mad that she would think so low of their mother, thinking that she didn’t care about her own daughter. She didn’t expect this, so as a result she didn’t know what to say because she really didn’t believe it. 

“I think you're confusing her giving you space to grow up with her not loving you. She did the same to me, once I was about your age she stopped coddling me like she did when I was younger and started to treat me like an adult. So please, don’t ever believe that she doesn’t love you.”

She only looked at her feet, ashamed to think that she ever believed her mom didn’t love her. She was still upset and it would take time for Link’s words to fully resonate with her, but she knew that her mom would always love her. And that she could live with. “Ok. You’re right, thank you Link.”

She practically jumped on him, squeezing him as tight as she could. He returned the favor, getting back up to his feet, not letting her go as he picked her up. “No thanks needed, Aryll. I’ll always be there for you, I promise.”

He knew that last part was an empty promise, considering that if the Calamity wasn’t defeated then he wouldn’t be able to keep it. 

“I’m gonna miss you.” She said, muffled against his shoulder.

“I’ll miss you too, squirt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I think I'm getting back into somewhat of a routine. But don't hold me to that! Anyway took some personal inspiration for this one, I had a sibling that was alot more popular to me and believe me nothing hurts worse than being referred to as another someone's sibling instead of your own name. But anyway, hope you enjoyed and see you soon!


	13. Chapter 13

If there was one thing that Link was good at, aside from his skills with a sword, it had to be his ability to suppress his emotions. 

He didn’t get the monecure “The Silent Knight” for no reason. Before the run in with the Yiga in the desert and Zeldas change of heart towards him, he went days and in some cases weeks without uttering a word. Most who barely knew him assumed he was a mute, or wasn’t right in the head, thinking it all but confirmed that the Goddess left them for dead, choosing a mute as their Champion. 

So when he got up and made breakfast one last time in his family home, he did a good job of covering his disappointment and sadness at leaving and heading back to the Castle. Although he still had another reason for his sour mood today.

If there was another thing Link was good at, it was his ability to procrastinate. 

He’d been putting this off since his first day here. Every morning he would tell himself that he would do it today, but either something came up like Aryll wanting to shield surf or Zelda wanting to walk around town or he would just not do it and tell himself he would do it the next day. And with today being the last day here, he could no longer avoid it no matter how much he tried. For as good as his procrastination was, when push came to shove he always relented. 

“I think we should leave somewhere around midday. We should reach the castle by nightfall if we don’t stop.” Zelda told him at breakfast, Link already half done with his omelette. Her reasoning was sound, but he knew that they should have left already. She just wanted as much time away as she could get. And that gave Link time to run his personal errand.

“I’ll help you get packed after breakfast.” 

With Aryll attached to his hip while he packed, he got everything ready to go within an hour. Would have been alot quicker if Aryll wasn’t asking him what everything was as he was packing. Zelda thought it was just the girl's curiosity, but Link knew better, she was trying to stall him. She did the same exact thing the last time he left. 

“Aryll! Give your brother some space and help me with the cows, he’ll still be here when we’re done.” Whyla said from downstairs, after half an hour of her constant questioning. 

With a grumble, she gave Link another hug before slowly following her mother out the door. A giggle behind him made him stop his packing and turn around.

“You were right, I do like her.” Zelda said, with one hand covering her mouth.

“Because she’s so good at annoying me.” 

“Oh stop it, you don’t mean that. But, yes that’s one of the reasons why.” The Princess shot back.

Now without Aryll stopping him every few seconds, he was done packing within ten minutes. 

“Ok, we’re all packed.” Link said after getting the last strap tightened. 

“Good, now we have just a little more free time. Probably the last for awhile.” She said, barley above a whisper. 

Instead of saying anything, Link stood up and sat next to Zelda on her bed. He wrapped an arm around her as she laid her head on his shoulder. “I know I should be grateful that my father hasn’t sent out the royal guard to drag us back to the castle. But still, I don’t want to leave.”

“Mhmm. I know that I’m going to get an earful from him when we get back.” Link said, giving the top of her head a kiss.

She gave a sigh of contentment as she leaned more into his shoulder. “You know, we do have some alone time.”

She felt his body shake, and when she looked up she saw that he was laughing. “You’re terrible, Your Highness.”

Adjusting her position, Zelda threw her legs over his lap as she leaned forwards to whisper in his ear. “You know I don’t like it when you call me that.” 

“That’s why you like it when I do it.”

She didn’t reply, only wrapping her arms around his shoulders and kissing him before he could object. She knew that when they got back to the castle, the next time they could do something like this would be far off, so she intended to make the most of the time that they had left. And judging by Link’s hands on her hips pulling her closer, he had the same idea.

This really wasn’t helping Link’s procrastination.

He could always do it in an hour, when Aryll and his mother came back. Yeah, he’d do it then no question. 

Zelda, feeling emboldened, took her arms off of Link’s shoulders and pushed him so that he was lying on his back. She wasted no time in straddling him, letting her hands glide up and down his chest with a look on her face Link had never seen before. 

“Princess, are you trying to seduce me?”

“I am, and based off of this,” She grinded her hips slowly, getting a groan out of the pinned hero, “It’s working.”

“Goddess, Zelda.” 

“Always one with words, hmm?” 

“You’ll excuse me if I’m at aaah loss for words…” Link said through baited breath, not confident in his ability to speak when one of his daydreams was coming to life.

She let out a laugh, but this laugh was unlike any he had heard before. All the other times he heard her laugh, it was the best sound to ever bless his eardrums. This laugh was evil, a taunt of her power over him. He was puddy in her hands and she knew it. Her lips meeting his only confirmed her hypothesis, feeling his body go slack under her. 

Link was surprised at her eagerness. As long as he had known her, one of her defining traits was her cautiousness. She never went into a situation if she didn’t know all of the outcomes, she was a scientist after all. Sure, since their first kissing session they got relatively intimate but never this far. They would always get to a point where one of them would back away, thinking they were going too far. 

But neither of them moved away now. 

Zelda broke away from Link’s lips, giving him a kiss on the corner of his mouth, then across his cheek to his ear. Instead of whispering something in his ear, she did something worse. She bite his earlobe, getting a loud groan out of him and a giggle from the Princess. 

“Enjoying yourself, yes?”

“Goddess.” Was all Link could say. 

“Link, if you keep saying that the Goddess Hylia herself will actually appear in front of you.”

“I think she already has.”

Zelda backed away from him and locked eyes with him. After a few seconds of awkward silence, both of them burst out laughing. Zelda had to cover her mouth with a hand in a vain effort to hide her own laughter, soon running out of breath and a few snorts could be heard. Although Link was laughing, a clear blush was evident on his face. 

“Now I remember why I shouldn’t talk.” Link said, covering his face with his hands. 

He felt her take his hands away from his face, she was still laughing but the snorts had subsided. “I liked it! Never thought I’d hear you of all people try and sweet talk me.”

“Well, until last week I never thought we’d be in this position right now. So I guess we’re both full of surprises.” 

The sound of the front door being slammed open was the only warning to Aryll running back inside now that her chores were finished. It took Zelda less than a second to jump off of Link’s lap and get to her feet with no evidence of what they were doing, aside from the blush on her face. 

Link on the other hand wasn’t so lucky. 

With all of Zelda’s weight on his lap, and without any relief he was left with clear evidence of their….time alone. Sadly to say, this wasn’t the first time he was in a situation like this, being alone with the Princess in the Wild left him with inappropriate thoughts. 

So he did what he’s always done in this situation, think of his Grandma or one of Zelda’s older handmaidens. And just as a precaution, he covered his crotch with a pillow. Just as Aryll turned towards the stairs for the loft where Zelda and Link were, Whyla yelled from the front door.

“Sweetheart, your chores still aren’t done!” 

Aryll let out a frustrated huff, but Link let out a sigh. He was never one to turn away his sister, but he would have preferred to not try and hide his excitement from his little sister. Zelda picked up on his relief and smiled at him wickedly. 

“Need some fresh air?”

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

“I know that you wanted to walk around town but…..I need to do something before we leave.”

Zelda was taken aback by Link’s tone, he almost seemed nervous to even ask for her permission. 

“Of course Link. Can I come with or would you rather do it alone?” She could tell that this was serious judging by his quick change in mood, so she didn’t want to assume anything. 

“Actually, I’d like it if you did come.”

With a nod of her head, she grabbed his hand as he led them back to his family home. 

Walking by the main house and the barn, Zelda was at a loss as to what Link needed to do. But, since he made no move to tell her, she made no move to ask. Walking past the barn, the sounds of cows and horses had become all too familiar to her by now, another thing the Princess would miss about this place. Instead of the soothing sounds of a rural farm town, she’ll have to get used to the hustle and bustle of the castle again. 

“Shouldn’t be much farther.” 

Now past the barn, the two headed to the tree line at the outskirts of the pasture, where a few cows were still grazing. While she had been all over the area over the past week and a half, she never headed in this particular direction. If Link had not been so somber, her curiosity would have taken over and she would have been giddy even. 

Once getting into the woods, there was a small clearing with a tall oak tree in the center. And what Zelda saw at the base of the tree made her lose her breath. 

It was a tombstone.

It took Zelda a moment to realize that they had stopped moving. Looking over to Link she saw the same stoic mask he had whenever they were in public around the castle, she did not like it. She wanted to do something, but she couldn’t find the courage to do so. Instead she wrapped her arms around his right, giving it a tight squeeze. 

That seemed to be enough to get him to move, although his face was still the same deadpan expression, but she would take whatever she could get. The closer they got to the tree, she could feel his heart beat faster and faster. 

“Link, are you sure you want me here? This seems very personal and I-”

“I want you here….with me.”

While everyone else at the castle believed Link to be unreadable when he put that mask on, Zelda had been the only one to be able to read him. And in all that time, she knew when he was humoring her, afraid to hurt her feelings or telling her the truth. She knew which that one was. 

“Ok.”

With a heavy heart, she followed him until they were at the base of the tree, a few feet from the gravestone. It was simple, clearly homemade with clear evidence of a chisel being used in its creation. Some around court would call it crude or low effort, but after spending a week with this family, it fit them like a glove. She didn’t need to read the name, she knew who it was. 

“Hey, Pa. It’s been awhile.”

Zelda had heard Link furious, happy, lustful and all other sorts of emotions but never did she hear sorrow. He wasn’t crying, and she couldn’t see any evidence he was going to. 

“Zelda, you don’t mind if I….”

“Whatever you feel is best for you. I know when I used to visit Mother’s grave, I would talk to her. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.” 

“I just….I just didn’t want you to think that I was crazy or weird.” Link rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. 

“I think it’s too late for that, we’re both crazy and weird in our own way.”

While he didn’t laugh, she got him to smile. A real smile and that was worth all the rupees in the world. 

“Take as much time as you need, I’ll be here with you the whole way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to set an update schedule of alteast once every week, but seeing as that failed within three chapters I can promise updates every two weeks at the very minimum. But anyway, that was a little longer so I hope it was worth the wait. I know I said only another chapter or two a few chapters ago but I keep getting more ideas as I go, so I won't put a number on it until I feel it is right. Comments and kudos are very appreciated!


	14. Chapter 14

“Next time you plan on visiting, maybe give me a couple days heads up?”

“I can’t promise that, you know me. I’d get here before the fastest mail carrier ever could.”

The only response Link got was another one of his mother’s trademark bear hugs. He never knew where she hid that strength being the short, petite woman she was. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on the top of her head hoping that this wouldn’t be the last time he’d be back before the Calamity struck. A few muffled sniffs made him tighten his grip around her, almost as if he was trying to give her a bone crushing hug of her own. 

It had been an interesting morning to say the least. After Link and Zelda came back from his father’s grave, Link's mother could no longer deter Aryll’s clinginess to her brother, with her being attached to his side for the next few hours. It wasn’t until after lunch, when Whyla had sent her to get Epona and Royal ready for the long ride back to the castle. Zelda decided to go help her, figuring out on her own that Whyla just wanted one last moment alone with her son.

“I’ll write often, and honestly this time. No more lies.” He whispered, so that only she could hear.

“That’s all I could ever ask for.” She pulled away, whipping her nose. 

Link knew that staying longer, while nice in the short term meant that when they eventually had to leave it would be so much more difficult. He had started to get used to being able to sleep in a comfortable bed, to wake up whenever he wanted to and be able to spend his time how he pleased. Inwardly, he cursed himself for letting his ridgid regiment he had kept for so long, be withered away in just a week and a half, but his mother knew exactly how to spoil him and his new relationship with Zelda certainly didn’t help. 

“You love her, don’t you?”

He must have been blushing at the thought of her, that or his mother really did know everything he was thinking, a skill he had wished he had. “W-what?”

“You love her.” No question this time, she simply stated it as if it was set in stone.

‘I..I don’t know what yo-”

“I thought you said you would be honest with me? That does not only apply to your letters.” Gone was her sadness and replaced by an annoyed tone he was all too familiar with. 

“I wasn’t trying to….I just wasn’t expecting you to say that to me.” 

“Well, I did and you still haven’t answered me. You love her, I know you do. As bad as my eyesight has been getting over the past few years I’m not blind.”

Link ran a hand through his hair as he let out a sigh. He was barely able to talk to Zelda about how he felt about her without becoming a blubbering mess. He was even less confident that he could explain any of it to his mother. “Is it really that obvious?”

“Very. You two spend the whole day together, making googly eyes at each other and expect me not to notice. Does anyone else know about this?”

“...no. We haven’t been….like this for long.” Link couldn’t hold his mother's gaze, instead decided to look at a bug on the floor.

“Then how long?” There was no judgement in her voice like he feared, only genuine curiosity. 

“Um….well, we kind of stumbled into it on the way here actually.”

“That new? From how you were writing about her and how she talks about you, I thought that this had been a thing for months!” 

“Well, it’s not like I didn’t want it to….wait, she talked to you about me?”

If Link wasn’t already embarrassed talking about his love life to his mother, her bursting out laughing only made it worse. “Goddess, boy! I think you are spending too much time in court, listening to the gossip from around the castle, wanting to know who said what about you!”

“I...I was just surprised is all.” 

“Surprised? I wouldn’t be! I asked her if you were as annoying to be around at the castle than you were here at home and she went on this long, convoluted answer about how she didn’t like you at first and how guilty she was, and still is at that. Then about how you two bonded over your shared destiny and all of that, and she thought I missed her red cheeks but I surely didn’t. As smart as that girl is, she isn’t exactly subtle. Frankly, if she was like that with me for just a few minutes, I’m surprised it took you so long to figure it out.” 

She put a hand on his shoulder to finally get him to look at her in the eyes. He was expecting anger, disappointment or something like that. Instead, she was smiling.

“Wait, you’re not mad?”

“Why in Hylia’s name would I be mad? My son found someone he cares for, and even better she cares for him as much, if not more. That’s something no mother can be mad about.” She said with genuine confusion.

“Well...she’s the Princess.”

“That’s why you thought I would be mad? Oh no. Don’t tell me you’ve convinced yourself that you’re not worthy of her love just because you’re a farmer and not some noble.”

All it took was one look for her to get her answer, no words required. 

“Link, she loves you. And quite frankly, you probably already had the same conversation with her knowing you. I’m sure so told you the same thing and that’s all that matters, so stop being so hard on yourself and enjoy this while it lasts.”

“I know. We don’t know what will happen when the Calamity strikes, we don’t know if either of us will survive but we agreed to give it a shot anyway. But even if we both do survive, we’d have to end it at some point. Her father is only holding off her being married until after we defeat the Calamity, and there is no way he would ever agree to me even being mentioned as a candidate for it. I just don’t know if I can put her through that just because of where I come from.”

Whyla had to collect her thoughts for a moment as she processed what to say next. “When I first started seeing you father, he was still a knight. Not a Royal Guardsman yet, so he would have to go for weeks at a time, protecting some rich noble on his way to Castletown, putting down a rebellion or clearing out monster nests. So I knew going in that there was a good chance that after he gave me a kiss goodbye and left with his men, that I would never see him again. That I would be left heartbroken that someone I loved so much, would die without me being there. I went in knowing full well that it could end just as quickly as it began, and I did it anyway. And knowing how it ended, with him passing away well before either of us wanted, I wouldn’t have changed it for all the money in the world. The point is Link, no matter how this ends, it would be better to have done it than to have not done it at all.”

He couldn’t say anything. What was there to say? He knew she was right, as much as it would pain him to let her go, he would never forgive himself if gave up on their relationship without giving it a shot. Even though they had just shared a hug a moment ago, she gave him another one.

“Besides, knowing her she would fight like hell to get you on her suitors list.” Whyla said into his ear.

“Mom!” Link broke the hug, a blush clear on his face as his mother couldn’t contain her laughter. 

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Come on, your sister is probably nagging your girlfriend's ear off.” She grabbed his hand as she walked by, dragging him towards the front door. He got one more look at the inside of his home, taking it all in knowing full well that this could be his last time seeing it. 

Sure enough, rounding around the side of the house both Epona and Royal were all packed and ready to go. Zelda was sitting against the house with Aryll at her side with the Sheikah Slate between the two. If there was one thing Aryll wanted after this, it was gonna be a Sheikah Slate. Over the past week and a half, she had been asking so many questions about the device. What could it do? Can it shoot fire? Can it freeze time? Questions a young girl would ask. She would always be disappointed to find out that it was pretty much just a camera.

“There you two are! Zelda’s been showing me all the pretty pictures she took with this! She even took one of me! I didn’t know I looked that weird, I look too much like Link.” 

“Sorry, squirt. You got my good looks to look forward to in your future.” Link shot back as he reached the pair and picked Aryll up by her armpits. 

While the two siblings were going back and forth, Whyla managed to whisper something in Zelda’s ear. She nodded as she raised the slate and turned the camera rune on. 

*Click*

Link knew that sound all too well, after hearing it well over a thousand times over the past year. He looked over at Zelda and Whyla, both women giggling as the Princess showed Link the screen. It was a picture of Link and Aryll, both unaware of a picture being taken of them, both with smiles on their faces. 

“Why don’t we all get a picture? Something for you to remember us by as a keepsake while you’re off saving Hyrule. You don’t mind taking some do you, Princess?” Whyla asked, walking over to her children.

“Oh not at all! Once I get back to the castle, I can get these developed and send them to you, so that you can have them.” 

“Oh that would be wonderful! You really don’t mind?” 

Whyla and Zelda went back and forth over the details, but Link couldn’t really listen as Aryll resettled so that she was sitting on his shoulders with her hairs in his hair. 

“You two done horsing around?”

Both nodded. Link was used to getting his picture taken at this point, seeing as how many times Zelda had used him for scale when taking a picture of an animal, rock structure or even monsters. He still cringed when he had to run up and awaken a Talos so that she could study their biology. 

So while he was used to it, his mother and sister were not. Judging by how they did know where to look. 

“See that glowing eye? Just look at that.” He threw an arm around his mother's shoulder and pointed at the eye in question. 

“Ok, smile everybody!”

Two quick clicks and that was that. 

With the sun still high in the sky, Link knew that they had to go. So he let go of his mother and started to walk towards his horse. Of course, he still had his sister strapped to his head, and with every step he took towards his horse the thighter her grip on his hair would get. 

It wasn’t until he finally got to Epona, did her grip border line on her trying to pull his hair out. “Aryll, you know I have to leave.”

She let go of his hair and threw her head into his hair. He didn’t need to look at her face to know that she was starting to tear up. He knew that, one look at her face, he might even start to tear up with her. 

He thanked whatever goddess was listening as his mother came up and put a hand on Aryll’s back. “Sweetie...you have to get down, Link has to go.”

Aryll nodded, but her grip around Links head only tightened as Whylas arms wrapped around her, trying to peel her off Link’s shoulders. With each pull, Aryll let out another sob. “I don’t want him to go! He said he’d be gone until my birthday last time! And instead he missed two of them!”

“He has to go..” Whyla said as sweetly as she was able, but that was getting increasingly harder the more the little girl struggled. 

With one last pull, Aryll was peeled off of Link with a loud whimper. Even in his mother’s arms, she still reached for Link, her eyes too watery for her to see him. Link didn’t even hesitate, pulling both into a strong hug. 

“I’ll come back. I promise, Aryll.” Looking over his mother’s shoulder, he saw Zelda keeping her distance but giving him a reassuring smile. 

He kept saying, “I’ll come back” over and over until his sister’s cries were silent. What hurt him most wasn’t that Aryll was crying over him leaving, it was that he knew he couldn't keep his promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of this whole once a week thing, but who knows I'll probably break it soon knowing me. Anyway, I know I keep saying the next chapter will be the last one and it never is. But THIS time, the next chapter really is the last one I promise. See you then!


	15. Chapter 15

Link knew that the King of Hyrule was a man to not be trifled with, so he should have been expecting the consequences of staying in Hateno longer than what they were given. 

His problem wasn’t that there were consequences to their actions, only to whom the punishments were given to. At the very least he had expected to be assigned night shifts around the castle for the next few months, on top of his day long shift with the Princess. After all he let them stay longer and while it was Zelda who came up with the idea, he knew if he decided they had to go, she would have listened.

But to the King, it wasn’t his fault at all. To him Link was just following the Princesses orders, making her the one responsible for “abandoning her people and duties” as he had put it. Link had never once imagined he would ever consider voicing his frustrations with the King, even with Zelda. That all changed a week after they had gotten back from Hateno.

Zelda was ordered to pray at one of the Springs in the castle from sunrise to sun down by her father. While this Spring's connection to the Goddess was mostly symbolic, with it only being used for royal baptisms or other religious ceremonies, the King still believed that she could unlock her power here. Or maybe he didn’t, seeing this as an opportunity to punish her.

Neither said a word from dawn to a few hours after noon when a few priests visited the spring and spoke to Zelda. He let his mask of indifference drop for just a second, hearing one of the priests speak to her. 

“Never hesitate to come to us with questions. If you need any assistance in your prayer technique, let us know.”

He knew that this priest meant well, a rarity seeing as how most of the church wanted to gain the favor of the King, and defending his daughter wouldn’t help their standing in court. 

“Excuse me, sirs. But the Princess is on direct orders from the King to not be disturbed during her prayer sessions. That includes members of the clergy.” 

Since then, they haven’t been disturbed. And based on the glares given by the priests as they left, it was because of him, not the orders given by the King.

With the only sound being the Princesses whispered prayers, being repeated over and over for hours he felt the next few hours go by rather quickly with his mind turning to daydreams to pass the time. While he regretted staying longer at Hateno, Zelda’s actions on the last day, before they went to visit his father’s grave gave him plenty of things to pass the time thinking about. Of course, since returning to the castle and as a result being put under this tiresome schedule, they haven’t kissed since being in Hateno. Real kisses anyway, while they’ve stolen little pecks in the cheek or holding hands while no one was looking, it was a poor substitute for the real thing.

“Link?”

He must have been lost in his own head for longer than he had expected, based off of the shadows being in a vastly different place than he had remembered them being in. His suspicions were confirmed taking a look outside and saw the sun setting. 

“Something on your mind?” 

To anyone else, the Princess’s question would have been nothing but an innocent inquiry. But Link knew full well that she had been having the same thoughts as him ever since their little “science experiment” as she had taken to calling it. He thought he had been caught staring at her before they had admitted their feelings a lot, but since getting back from Hateno, it seemed like Zelda couldn’t take her eyes off of him. He couldn’t take his eyes off her either. 

“No, nothing at all.” He said, cheeks as red as tomatoes. 

“Mhm, well if you say so. Seeing as how the sun is currently setting, I’ve completed my Father’s orders for the day. So if you would be so kind, Sir Link.” 

He took her outstretched hand and helped her out of the Spring. Thankfully, the water wasn’t as cold as the one at the Spring of Power so she wasn’t shivering like she had been dropped into the tallest peak in Hebra. Now with her out of the Spring, Link would usually let go of Zelda’s hand and have her lead the way back to her quarters. Instead, Zelda kept Link’s hand in a vice grip as she nearly dragged him away from the Spring. 

Link had to admire her spirits. After spending an entire day praying, knowing that it wouldn’t unlock her powers. Normally she would be sad or angry at herself, so why was she in such high spirits today? They reached her quarters without interruption. And with no guard there to stop her, she pulled him into her room and slammed the door behind them. 

“What was th-”

Link couldn’t even finish his question, seeing as how Zelda had pushed him against her door with a loud *thud*. Wasting no time, she threw her arms around his neck and locked lips with him. If Link had been in a clear state of mind, he would have seen how dangerous this was. Even with no ones seeing them enter her room, a handmaiden could knock on the door or the guard meant to replace him could arrive early. 

But, with him standing around all day long with no food break or a chance to sit down, he was tired. So instead of breaking the kiss like he knew he should, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close. He knew he made the right decision. 

After Goddess knows how many minutes kissing, they both needed to breathe. Finally breaking the kiss and catching his breath, Link cupped Zelda’s cheek. “This was why you were in a good mood today?”

She leaned into his touch with a giggle. “No.”

“Oh? Then what was the real reason?”

“I have a gift for you, well…..three actually.” Letting her hands fall from his neck, Link let go of her letting her cross the room to her very cluttered desk. Although it was nothing compared to her workshop desk, it was still littered with notes, schematics or letters from Purah. She had been chastised by her Father and handmaidens, but Link loved it. It showed off the chaotic, yet refined person the Zelda was. So he was surprised to see Zelda grabbing a picture frame and her sketchbook off of her desk and moving them to her bed. 

As she sat on her bed, Link followed her and sat right next to her, with her still holding the frame against her chest. “You know that you don’t have to give me gifts right?”

“I know...but with my birthday coming up soon, I wanted to give you something...in case…”

“I know...so what did you get me, I must admit it's been awhile since I’ve gotten one.”

“Well, then lets hope I don’t disappoint! Here, I’ve been trying to find a frame that would fit.” Finally taking the picture frame away from her chest, she hands it to him. It was the picture that they had taken their last day in Hateno, with Aryll on his shoulders and his arm wrapped around his mother. 

“I meant to give this to you a few days after we got back, but Father made sure I had no way to contact Purah or Robbie and without their help I can’t print out any of these pictures. Thankfully I got them a message. Oh! I was able to get another copy and sent it to your mother, I hope she likes it. Do you like it? If not it-”

Link kissed Zelda on the lips, a heartfelt smile on his face as he pulled away. “Zelda, you’re rambling again. I love it, and I know that my mom will love it even more than me. Thank you, really.”

“Oh, well...wonderful! I know how much they missed you and figured it would be nice….Goddess I’m doing it again. Are you sure you like it? I know you might be teased for having something that personal in the guards quarters.”

“I’m sure. And if I remember correctly, you said that there were three gifts for me.” He shot back, rubbing her back with his free hand. 

He felt her muscles stiffen and her heart rate quicken as she reached for her white sketchbook. “Right! I...ok. Promise that you won’t laugh?”

“I’ve heard that line before. And if I didn’t laugh last time, I won’t now.”

She only nodded shakilly, as if she wasn’t fully convinced. But she opened her sketchbook anyway and quickly ripped out two pages, angling them so that Link still couldn't see what they were. “I know that you have that picture, but I wanted to give you something….more personal I guess. I don’t know. Here.”

She clearly ran out of reasons to stall, so instead she just gave him the two pieces of paper. Now, Link had been more and more impressed with each new drawing she showed, but these two were indescribable. Whereas before when she drew him, it was still amazing but it was from far away where he could tell it was him but there were still details missing. But these two drawings were close up and he could see every detail in the two faces. 

It was a close up of his mother and sister. He was speechless. Apparently he’d been silent for too long, with Zelda starting to fidget next to him. 

“Your mother saw me drawing you and your sister playing one night and asked if I could do her. It wasn’t until a few days before we left did she suggest I do Aryll as well. Is it….good?”

“Zelda these…..these are…” Link knew he was never good with words and had always considered himself as a man of actions, so heacted. Instead of telling her how much he loved them, he showed her. He cupped her face in both his hands and kissed her with as much passion as he could. She was surprised at first, but quickly returned it with as much enthusiasm as him. 

“I take it you like them?” She said, clearly relieved. 

“I love them. I don’t want to damage them, they’re going in my foot locker where they’ll be safe.”

She let out a sigh, leaning forward and resting her head in the crock of his neck. Almost out of instinct he wrapped his arms around her, rubbing patterns into her back. He knew he should let go, he should get off her bed and put as much distance between them as physically possible. They had both agreed that back at the castle they would take no unnecessary risks, as much as the King favored Link, he would have no problem taking away his knightship and locking him in the dungeon until the Calamity presented itself.

But he didn’t care, something he would neve have thought he would ever think. If he told himself a few months ago that he and the Princess would be having an affair, he would have thought he was crazy, but here they were. And he wouldn’t change it for the world.

“I love you.” He found himself saying before he could stop himself.

“I love you too.” She said back without hesitation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! First off I want to thank all of you who stuck with this story through that long hiatus and my more boring chapters, it really mean the world to me that people actually enjoy what I write, seeing as how I consider myself a bad writer. But yeah, it's going to take some getting used to not having to think about what to write about next for this story, with this being on my mind for the last six months. I do have some ideas floating around in my head were Link and Zelda are concerned, especially with Age of Calamity coming out later this week, but first I have another fic I need to finish that I put on old for this, it won't be long so if you like my zelink stuff, I've got much more in store. Particularly when it comes to post Calamity, I've got a few one shots and multichapter stories in mind! Thanks so much and stay safe!

**Author's Note:**

> Be sure to comment on anyway I can improve!


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